BROCKTON, Mass. — The high cost of college has many high school students interested in learning a trade these days.
The pay is good in those fields and there are no loans to pay back.
An innovative program in a Brockton middle school is now giving students a chance to sample different vocational opportunities at a younger age.
In a culinary arts class at the Davis School, 8th graders recently assigned a project to make homemade waffles with real whipped cream and strawberries.
“It’s different because we get to have fun and do work at the same time,” said student Zayden Cardoso. “It’s more opportunities to work with our friends.”
Not only does it “not” feel like work to these students. It doesn’t even feel like a class.
And that’s the secret to the recipe in this class.
“It also involves math and measurement and reading,” said teacher Jennifer Baker. “It involves a lot of parts of the curriculum into cooking. And it’s science, too.”
This is the Career and Technical Education program. It started last year and expanded this year.
Teachers like Baker, who usually teaches English, volunteered to add this class to her workload.
“I was on board right away,” added Baker. “I think it’s a lot of fun.”
A program like this isn’t something that tends to take place in a middle school, but when Principal Darlene Campbell had a chance to launch it at the Davis School, she jumped at it.
“You see the difference in some of these youngsters because it’s doing, it’s hands on, it’s getting into it, it’s creating, and we’re tapping into other parts of their brain which is just wonderful,” said Campbell.
The program offers instruction in six areas:
- Culinary Arts
- Drones and Robotics
- Entrepreneurship
- Wood Working
- Photography
- Bridge Building
Science teacher Steven Celia teaches bridge building.
“I love science. I have since I was a kid, and I want that love of science to be passed onto the other students.”
Celia hopes a hands-on approach will lead some students into STEM fields.
“You can see their excitement when they say, wow, this works, or when it doesn’t work, and they go wait a minute okay wait, what did I do wrong? How can I make it better? They could read about it in a book, but they’re not going to be excited about it.”
In general, the students are excited thinking about the future in a way they hadn’t before.
Lucas De Carvalho said, “These classes are amazing. It teaches students lots of stuff, real life skills.”
D’Anne Mendez added “I feel like this class will be really for kid’s futures.”
That’s what this is all about for Campbell. Opening students’ eyes to choices they didn’t even know existed.
“It says to kids, there’s college and that’s great, but there are vocations you might want to get involved in.”
The demand for slots in the state’s vocational high schools has been growing beyond the system’s capacity.
Governor Maura Healey recently filed a supplemental budget which includes money to create 3,000 additional seats over the next three years.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
