In its early years, Franklin County Technical School had something of an inferiority complex. Back in 1976 when it opened, some people felt that a discrete technical vocational school was for those who couldn’t make it in a regular high school.
The perception of some in the 1980s was that the Tech School was a dumping ground for its sibling public schools in Franklin County.
Boy, were they wrong.
If that perception was ever true, it has not been for decades. In fact, Tech today is the largest high school in Franklin County, with about 500 pupils studying not only trades as diverse as welding and web development, but also traditional academics, including advanced placement classes for the college-bound.
The school is a cornerstone of vocational technical education in the region. Its students hail from 19 communities across seven other school districts.
The school has 13 technical programs: Automotive Technology, Business Technology, Carpentry, Collision Repair and Refinishing, Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, Electrical, Health Technology, Landscaping and Horticulture, Machine Technology, Plumbing and Heating, Programming and Web Development, Welding and Metal Fabrication.
And it is continually upgrading to keep pace with an evolving regional workplace.
For example, in 2013, the Machine Technology program modernized its shop after an infusion of $769,000 for 14 new high tech metal-working machines. Graduates of the Machine Technology program are prepared to immediately enter the workforce in an industry that needs employees and pays excellent salaries and benefits. The machines are even used nights to train adults for the high-demand, high-paying jobs in modern metal working shops that are the descendants of the county’s once dominate tool-making companies like Greenfield Tap and Die and Millers Falls Co.
This year, a $55,777 federal grant enabled the school to buy 26 new computers to upgrade the Programming and Web Development program. Students in the program assembled the computers themselves.
The school enjoys a strong relationship with local industries, so it knows how to adjust its courses to dovetail with the needs of local employers.
More and more community colleges and vocational technical schools are requiring students from vocational high schools to have undergone a rigorous academic program, which includes honors and advanced placement courses.
So, Tech’s academic pro
The Tech School has been upgrading its academic programs in recent years as well. In 2014, the Science and Technology department was awarded a $99,557 grant to purchase a 3-D printer and other equipment.
There’s lots to be said for a school that can motivate and prepare its students so well for solid careers in the traditional trades right out of high school or for further advancement in college or the military.
That’s just what the Tech School has done for four decades since its inception in the 20th century — and we are confident it will continue to do well into the 21st century.