RVTC director advocates for reforms

Scott Farr of the River Valley Technical Center in Springfield, recently honored as Technical Center Director of the Year by the Vermont Principals Association, has been working to prepare youth throughout the country for careers since the late 1980s.

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2017-08-09 / Front Page RVTC director advocates for reforms By KELSEY CHRISTENSEN kchristensen@eagletimes.com Scott Farr, recent Technical Center Director of the Year, sits outside of the River Valley Technical Center. In between directing the technical center, coaching basketball, and picking up accolades, Farr recently testified to the Vermont legislature committees on commerce and education about the importance of Career and Technical Education programs in delivering skilled workers to a Vermont economy that’s struggling to fill high-skilled positions. — KELSEY CHRISTENSEN Scott Farr, recent Technical Center Director of the Year, sits outside of the River Valley Technical Center. In between directing the technical center, coaching basketball, and picking up accolades, Farr recently testified to the Vermont legislature committees on commerce and education about the importance of Career and Technical Education programs in delivering skilled workers to a Vermont economy that’s struggling to fill high-skilled positions. — KELSEY CHRISTENSEN SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Scott Farr of the River Valley Technical Center (RVTC) in Springfield, recently honored as Technical Center Director of the Year by the Vermont Principals Association, has been working to prepare youth throughout the country for careers since the late 1980s. The throughline of Farr’s career has been working to prepare students for success, stimulating economic development and invigorating the workforce in Vermont. In the Spring, Farr testified about the successes and challenges of technical center education to the Vermont legislature, advocating reforms that would improve the connecton between Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and high schools. “Part of my job description is to be an evangelist for tech center education,” Farr said. In the winter, Farr traveled to the Vermont State House to address several issues before the Commerce and Education committees. At RVTC, students from Springfield High School, Bellows Falls Union High School, Fall Mountain Regional High School, Green Mountain High School, and Black River High School can supplement their regular secondary course work with job-training programs. The programs embed quantitative and verbal skills in the curriculum, but they also ensure that when students graduate, they’re not just getting their high school diploma: they’re getting job offers in industries that demand high-skilled workers for wages 150 percent to 200 percent over the state minimum. “We want to help out students get the job they want to get, rather than the job they have to take,” Farr said. And, the tech center has done this with staggering success. According to the testimony Farr presented to the legislature, the RVTC program generates 350 job placements a year. With only an average of 300 students enrolled in RVTC programs, that amounts to 1.3 jobs per student. Ninety-six percent of tech center students graduate on time, putting it well above the overall Vermont graduation rate of 87.8 percent. He said 65 percent of students earn industry-recognized credentials, while 25 percent earn dual-enrollment college credit. And, the tech center isn’t just about moving from secondary school to a job: 52 percent of RVTC students are placed in post-secondary programs. “Our kids are in high demand,” Farr said. “I tell them all the time, they’re in a really good place right now. Most of them aren’t going to take less than $15 an hour.” However, Farr says there are challenges preventing technical centers across the state from meeting outcomes that will change economic dynamics in Vermont. According to data with Vermont Futures, a Vermont Chamber foundation, there’s a gap in the workforce of 11,000 workers per year in the state, but funding mechanisms for tech programs in the state pit public high schools and technical centers against each other. Schools lose funding when they send a pupil to a CTE program, and sending schools can deny their students the ability to enroll. Additionally, increased graduation requirements may prevent students from learning through CTE programs instead of in a traditional classroom. “It can really hurt the economy if [employers] can’t find the help they need,” Farr said. In his testimony, Farr proposed access to pre-technical programing for students in grades 9 and 10 and access to all CTE programming for students in grades 10 through 12 in the short term. For the long term, Farr advocates a study to investigate funding systems, flexibility for CTE to serve out of state students, coordination between Act 77 — which adds options to the classroom that can lead to high school completion and postsecondary readiness — and CTE, and an investigation of governance and outcomes of Act 46, which encourages smaller school districts to merge for more efficiency and equality. Farr doesn’t want to imply that his testimony is directly related, but it appears that the legislature has heeded Farr’s experiences and observations. Act 69, which seeks to promote economic development and was signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott in June, promotes access to technical education and coordination between educational and job sectors. Section E.1. of the bill dicates that the Commissioner of Labor must develop an efficient model for the delivery of workforce education programs which will meet Vermont’s needs, establish goals and performance measures, and expands access and accelerate CTE to Vermont students in grades 9 through 12 and to Vermont adults. “There’s some converging, here. There’s a need in the workforce, a declining population,” Farr said. “The work we’re doing is a natural thing.” x