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20 Technical Programs

www.nashobatech.net978.692.4711 x1115

100 LITTLETON ROAD | WESTFORD, MA 01886

TECHNICAL DEMONSTRATIONSGUIDED TOURS · INTERACTIVE DISPLAYSGIVEAWAYS · SPECIAL GUEST · AND MORE

Automotive Collision Repair & Refinishing | Automotive Technology | Banking,Marketing & Retail | Carpentry | Cosmetology | Culinary Arts | Dental Assisting |Design & Visual Communications | Early Childhood Education & Care | ElectricalTechnology | Engineering Academy (Biotechnolgy, Electronics/Robotics,Engineering Technology) | Health Assisting | Hotel RestaurantManagement | Machine Tool Technology | Plumbing & Heating |Programming & Web Development | TV & Media Production/Theatre Arts | Veterinary Assisting

Recently, Nashoba Valley Technical High School strengthened its commitment to STEM education by creating the first-of-its-kind Engineering Academy, a specially focused school-within-a-school that merged the Engineering Technology and Electronics/Robotics program. This year, the Academy added a Biotechnology section to

its offerings, further proving that Nashoba Valley Technical High School’s focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics is unmatched among technical high schools.

But while the term “STEM” is gaining popularity in Massachusetts as a way to show educators’ focus on those subjects, the acronym that more accurately applies to Nashoba Tech may be STEAM, which includes expanded education in the Arts.

With the addition of a new Dance and Arts Studio, as Superintendent Dr. Judith L. Klimkiewicz said, “At Nashoba, we’ve moved from STEM to STEAM.”

Nashoba Tech’s Music program — itself an original among Massachusetts technical schools — has been established for seven years, and this year, Dance and Fine Arts electives have been added.

Nashoba Valley

TECHLINE

Nashoba Valley Technical School District—Serving the towns of Ayer, Chelmsford, Groton, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend & Westford.

What’s Making Noise at Nashoba Valley Technical High School?

FALL2015

DID YOU KNOW?

IN THIS ISSUE:

Nashoba Adds Biotech and Veterinary Assisting (cont.)

New Campus Signage for NT

NT Bond Rating Results in Serious Savings for School

Major Breakfast/Lunch Initiative for Nashoba Tech

Arts Opportunities Expand at Nashoba Tech (cont.)

(Continued on Page 3)

(Continued on Page 2)

• NVTHS has a 0% drop out rate for 2010 to 2014

• Over 85% of NVTHS graduates go to college

• NVTHS has had 100% passage of MCAS for the past 10 years; Classes of 2013,14, and 15 had 100% passage of ELA, and 99% passage of Math MCAS on the first attempt for 10th grade students.

• NVTHS was designated as a Level 1 (highest ranking) school by the DESE, the only such school in the district

• NVTHS offers 10 DESE approved Advanced Placement Courses, in addition to its many Honors classes

• NVTHS is the only technical school with Theatre Arts, Music, Foreign Language, and Dance, and Arts programs

• NVTHS was given the Aa bond rating, the second highest in the state.

NASHOBA VALLEYTECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL

100 Littleton RoadWestford, MA 01886

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WESTFORD, MA

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BIOTECH, VETERINARY ASSISTINGBOLSTER NASHOBA TECH’S OFFERINGS

4 Techline / Fall 2015

NASHOBA TECH GOES FROM “STEM” TO“STEAM” WITH ADDITION OF DANCE, FINE ARTS

Practicing their dance moves in Nashoba Tech’s new Dance and Arts Studio are, from left, freshmen Katrina Trocha, Jillian Farrar and Alina Francia.

Nashoba Valley Technical High School, in its goal to provide students with career pathways in the most in-demand professions, has added two vital programs for the 2015-2016 school year — Biotechnology and Veterinary Assisting.

Up and running is the Biotechnology portion of the highly successful Engineering Academy.

“Biotech is a continuation of the growth and development of the Engineering Academy,” Superintendent Dr. Judith L. Klimkiewicz said. “It’s an additional component that has a very large job demand in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

According to biospace.com, employment

in biotechnology — or specifically, biopharmaceutical technology — in 2014 experienced its highest annual growth rate since 2008, adding 5 percent more jobs and outpacing the national average. In 2014, there were 60,459 jobs in Massachusetts’ biopharmaceutical industry, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. And in the last 10 years, employment in the Massachusetts biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry has increased by 28 percent, while the country as a whole witnessed a 2 percent decrease over the same period.

• • Automotive Technology• Banking, Marketing & Retail• Carpentry/Cabinet Making• Cosmetology• Culinary Arts• Dental Assisting• Design and Visual Communications• Early Childhood Education and Care• Electrical Technology

• Engineering Academy (Biotechnology, Engineering, Electronics/Robotics)

• Health Assisting• Hotel Restaurant Management• Machine Tool Technology• Plumbing and Heating• Programming and Web Development• TV & Media Production/Theatre Arts• Veterinary Assisting

A plan for today, skills for tomorrow.

20 career technical programs today!

When it comes to preparing students for college, no technical school in the area is equal to Nashoba Valley Technical High School.

Nashoba Tech currently offers nine Advanced Placement (AP) classes in American History, Biology, Calculus, English Language and Composition, Physics, and U.S. Government and Politics, and — new this year — Chemistry and Computer Science.

Jeremy Slotnick, coordinator of academic testing for Nashoba Tech, said the number of AP courses offered at Nashoba Tech shows that “our students are willing to take on academic risks.” He added, “They’re not afraid to roll up their sleeves to accomplish academic success.”

According to Gabriella White, director of curriculum, there is a national push for what is called “early-college high school,” which includes AP classes and Dual Enrollment, which Nashoba Tech also offers to qualified juniors and seniors.

“Statistics show that students who participate in some form of early-college program, whether it’s AP or Dual Enrollment, perform better in college and do a better job of graduating on time,” White said.

White said she met recently with representatives from Middlesex Community College, which several Nashoba Tech students attend on a full-time basis through Dual Enrollment, and they are pleased with the national trend toward better preparing students for college while they are in high

school.“Colleges are thrilled with the prospect

of having students more prepared when they come into college,” White said.

In addition, this year Nashoba Tech initiated a three-year agreement with Mass Insight Education’s AP STEM and English program, which encourages more students to take AP classes in an effort to increase their

confidence and acquire the academic skills they need to succeed in college.

“We want our students to rise to the challenge,” said Nashoba Tech Superintendent Dr. Judith L. Klimkiewicz. “I hope that the additional course work will prepare our students for the rigors of a collegiate program that they might not have been prepared for previously.”

Each student at Nashoba Tech is now required to select either Music, Dance, Fine Arts, or Spanish as an elective.

As its name suggests, the Dance and Arts Studio is home to Nashoba Tech’s dance and fine arts classes. The building, which used to be a barn used for storage before being renovated by Nashoba Tech students, is a 30-foot-by-50-foot space.

“It’s a gorgeous space and a beautiful facility,” said Emily Smith, a TV & Media Production/Theatre Arts teacher who is also now the dance teacher.

Smith said she plans to cover such varying dance styles as ballet, jazz, hip-hop, modern, swing and country line-dancing,

among others.Fine Arts teacher Robin Monaco,

who also teaches Programming & Web Development, said the students who have signed up for her class in the studio are having a blast.

“The kids are absolutely wonderful,” she said. “Obviously, they were eager to have something like this available. They pay attention, and they’re like sponges, so excited to learn. Every one of them loves to be there and loves to draw.

“It’s very important that they learn art

and music and dance at an early age,” she added. “I always said if I could find a job that combines the fine arts and computer arts, I’d be in seventh heaven. And here I am.”

The website also states that Massachusetts continues to lead the country in biotech R&D jobs. And the estimated average salary in the biopharmaceutical industry is about $120,000.

In addition, the Veterinary Assisting program is available for the first time this year to freshmen and sophomores. While a veterinary clinic, in which students will be able to train with professionals from Boston-based Angell Animal Medical Center, won’t be up and running until likely February, underclass students accepted into the Veterinary Assisting program will begin to learn the basics of veterinary science.

For the first several months of the program, students will undergo training in the academic aspects of veterinary science in a classroom setting before receiving hands-on training in the clinic, which will be staffed by an Angell professional.

The program is the first of its kind for a high school in Middlesex County and Nashoba Valley.

The Veterinary Assistant program will fill a need in the area to produce trained and certified assistants to local veterinarians, of which there are many. Klimkiewicz noted that within a few miles of Nashoba Tech — on Route 110 in Westford and Chelmsford alone — there are at least four veterinary

clinics and hospitals.Betsy Hensley, who has more than 20

years in the veterinary industry, is excited to be teaching the new program. She said students will learn about handling and restraint, safety, anatomy and physiology, husbandry, breed differentials, disease humans can get from animals, and much more.

Once the program is approved by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, seniors will be able to sit for the Approved Veterinary Assisting exam and find employment with a veterinarian after graduation.

“There is a long list of pathways students can take once they graduate from the program,” Hensley said. “Do they want

to be a veterinary technician? Do they want to go on to veterinary school? There are so many options.”

Hensley said there is a drastic need for entry-level veterinary assistants in the area.

“More and more veterinarians are hiring veterinary assistants,” she said. “They just don’t have the staff. This program will give

students a huge leg up.”Only ninth-graders and tenth-

graders are being accepted into the program. No upperclassmen will be accepted the first year because students must undergo at least two years of training in a technical program to be able to become certified.

Ann Marie Greenleaf, DVM, DACVECC, chief of staff at Angell Animal Medical Center, said Angell is looking forward to partnering with Nashoba Tech to provide a clinic “targeting low-income pet owners who otherwise would lack access to veterinary care.”

She said the Angell clinic at Nashoba Tech will provide, eventually with assistance from trained Nashoba Tech students, discounted spay/neuter services, vaccinations and basic veterinary care, but not specialty care or 24/7 emergency service, as Angell’s Boston and Waltham facilities do.

“We are pleased to help train more veterinary technicians in the area through this program,” Greenleaf said.

(Continued from Page 1)

2 Techline / Fall 2015 Techline / Fall 2015 3

If you have ever arrived at the Nashoba Valley Technical High School campus for lunch and had a hard time figuring out where the award-winning Elegant Chef restaurant is located, you are not alone.

This fall, Nashoba Tech is introducing new signage around the school to help visitors find their destination.

“Finally, we will have signs for the outside of the school so it won’t just look like a big brick building in the middle of nowhere,” Superintendent Dr. Judith L. Klimkiewicz said.

Under Dr. Klimkiewicz’s superintendency, Nashoba Tech has grown from a one-building school to a multiple-building facility, and sometimes it’s not easy to find one’s way around.

In addition to the main building at 100 Littleton Road, there is an Early

Childhood Center on South Chelmsford Road, as well as the new Dance and Arts Studio, located behind the Early Childhood Center. And, of course, there is the brand-new athletic complex behind the main building, including new tennis courts directly to the east of the main building.

“We are a campus now, not just one building,” Dr. Klimkiewicz said, “and we want our customers to be able to find their destination, whether it’s the restaurant or the athletic fields or the early-childhood building or the Dance and Arts Studio or the tennis courts.

“We will have professionally made signs that will locate each area of the facility so customers can easily find where they need to be,” she added.

Express Sign of Chelmsford is designing the signs. They are expected to be in place this fall.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT SUCCESS SHOWSNASHOBA TECH STUDENTS ARE PREPARED FOR COLLEGE

BIOTECH, VETERINARY ASSISTING BOLSTER NASHOBA TECH’S OFFERINGS

NASHOBA TECH’S HIGH BOND RATING WILLSAVE DISTRICT TOWNS $410,000 OVER NEXT 10 YEARS

UPDATED SIGNAGE FOR NASHOBA TECH

ARTS ADD “STEAM” TO NASHOBA TECH OFFERINGS

A Vet. Assiting student checks the vital signs of a horse at Little Brook Farm.

Practicing their dance moves in Nashoba Tech’s new Dance and Arts Studio are, from left, juniors Marta Burgos, Julian Santiago and Arianna Solomonides.

The Nashoba Valley Technical High School District received two pieces of good fiscal news recently.

Not only has the district maintained the second-highest bond rating from Moody’s Investors Service, an Aa1 rat-ing, but it also learned that a competitive bidding process on a 10-year refunding bond issue will generate a savings of $410,525 for the district over the remain-ing life of the refunded bonds.

The bottom line is that Nashoba Tech is seen as being a fiscally well-run school district.

Jeanne Savoie, Nashoba Tech’s busi-ness manager, said the high bond rating puts the district “in a more favorable

position if we need to borrow money.”Moody’s listed as Nashoba Tech’s

strengths its strong financial perfor-mance, resulting in an above-average General Fund reserve position, and the district’s low debt burden.

The rating puts Nashoba Tech in the Prime-1 category for short-term ratings, meaning it has the “best ability to repay short-term debt.”

Superintendent Dr. Judith L. Klim-kiewicz said the savings to the district over the next decade are “significant.”

“In addition to being proud that we are a fiscally responsible district, we are pleased that we will be able to save the district close to a half a million dollars

over the next 10 years,” Dr. Klimkiewicz said.

Nashoba Tech was first assigned the bond rating of Aa1 last year, and it was affirmed this past August.

According to Klimkiewicz, Nasho-ba Tech’s bond rating is higher than the rating of any of the school depart-ments in its eight-town district— Ayer, Chelmsford, Groton, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend and Westford.

She also said it’s the second-high-est bond rating for any school district in Massachusetts except for the Con-cord-Carlisle Regional School District.

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