South Shore Vocational Technical High School is a public trade school located in Hanover, Massachusetts. Different from regular high schools, trade schools include courses that will let students earn certain certifications, allowing them to potentially enter the workforce immediately. While trade courses, or “shops” are offered to students, academic classes remain mandatory for students to take throughout their high school career. SSVT’s schedule alternates between shop weeks and academic weeks, granting students the opportunity to learn all of the essentials they will need to matriculate through high school and graduate with a marketable skill.
While SSVT offers skills that can greatly aid students as they map out their future, application rates have decreased over the years. Out of last year’s 203 eighth graders (class of 2027), 29 students applied. This year, out of 207 current eighth graders (class of 2028), 24 applied.
One may ask, why are there decreasing numbers of students enrolling in SSVT? Eighth-grade students offered some of their insights:
“You have to be confident in what you want to go into,” says Gates eighth grader Mei Murphy. “It’s setting you up for a very specific path. If you end up not wanting to do that career, then all of the effort you had put into those four years will just be sitting there.”
However, some eighth graders are sure about their decision. Matilda Haley, another eighth grader at Gates, is confident about her commitment to Vo-tech. “I knew in seventh grade that I wanted to go. It suits my learning style better,” said Haley. She currently has her heart set on nursing, and with Votech’s Allied Health course, she can make that dream come true.
Many other students who are currently attending Votech have no regrets about their choice. “I mean, I definitely had to think about it for a couple of months,” says Allie Blanchard, a freshman at Vo-tech. “I really didn’t want to leave my friends and the sports I play. But I made my closest friends here at Votech. In the end, I’m super glad with the decision I made.”