If enrollment and corporate dollars are any indication, the strategy appears to be working, with Minuteman poised to have a waiting list for this fall’s freshman class.
It may even be a sign of something larger afoot, if not a renaissance then maybe at least some newfound respect for vocational education among parents facing sticker shock over college tuitions.
“To spend $200,000 over four years for your kid to figure out what they can do, that is just a huge financial investment that parents are beginning to question,’’ Bouquillon said.
Applications for the ninth grade jumped from 206 in 2009 to 284 last year to 304 so far for the fall, with more still coming in, according to Debra Jones, coordinator of data and research at Minuteman. There are 235 seats available, she said.
To respond to the changing job market, Bouquillon said, he made some painful but necessary changes.
Pulling the plug on the auto body program, a vocational school staple, was a relatively easy call, Bouquillon said. Only a few students were enrolled, and $150,000 was needed to modernize the garage equipment, he said. Students can still learn about engine repair as part of the larger automotive technology program.
Ditto for office technology, which involves learning basic computer skills that children now pick up at home well before high school.
These relics of the 1970s and 1980s are being replaced with classes designed to give Minuteman graduates a leg up in competing for the hot jobs of the emerging economy.
There is a thriving biotech track that, if Bouquillon gets his way, will undergo a significant expansion. Proposed additions include an animal science track as well as a criminal justice and biosecurity program. With Massachusetts now a popular backdrop for movie productions, there are plans to add a technical theater arts track as well.
