Terrebonne vo-tech building tomorrow’s work force today

Terrebonne’s Vocational Technical High School is a unique entity servicing high school students from all areas of the parish, teaching them the skills they need to enter today’s workforce.

Vo-tech Principal Marcel Fournier said, “We hope to provide our students the opportunity to master appropriate social, vocational and communication skills as a foundation for future educational pursuits.”

The school enables students to find and maintain gainful employment to enhance their quality of life.

The parish vo-tech school is located on the site of a former U.S. Air Force radar station adjacent to Ellender Memorial High School. Fournier said when the Air Force base shut down, the federal government donated the land and buildings to the Terrebonne Parish School Board.

The board subsequently established the vo-tech school in August 1974. “Let’s face it, not every child will go to college,” said School Board President Clark Bonvillain. “They need some type of skills that will help them support themselves after high school.”

In August 1999, the vo-tech merged with Terrebonne Vocational Rehabilitation Center.

Today, the school has 19 buildings sitting on 50 acres of land on Patriot Drive in Houma, and serves more than 750 students a year.

The students attend the school for half a day, which is the equivalent to three course hours. The courses are taught yearly instead of a semester basis.

“This consolidation into one facility allows the school system to offer services to more students, exposing them to trade and industry courses,” Fournier said. “We work very close with the businesses in the Bayou Region to meet the industry’s needs.”

The newest program offered at the vo-tech is a machinist program, which is an industrial mechanic shop course. Instructor Breck Chaisson said this is the second year for the program.

“Last year, we were focused on the equipment and material preparation. Now we are fine-tuning the program,” he explained. “We are documenting how long it takes the students to learn the components of the program so that we can know what courses to add or subtract from the curriculum.”

Fournier said the demand for industrial mechanic shop workers is high locally.

There is also a shortage of certified healthcare professionals in the region.

The vo-tech’s Certified Nursing Assistant and Geriatric Aide program instructor Penny LeBlanc said the nursing assistant program gives high school students the ability to enter into the workforce and make the type of pay to support themselves and their families.

“This is a solid foundation for whatever medical field the students choose to enter into,”

LeBlanc said.

The students enter into a rotation schedule during the spring semester where they spend five weeks shadowing the nurses at Heritage Manor Nursing Home in Houma and three weeks each at Chabert Medical Center and Terrebonne General Medical Center in

Houma.

The following is a list of programs offered by the parish vo-tech high school:

Auto Body Repair, Automotive Technology, Carpentry, Cosmetology, Diesel Mechanics,

Electricity, Electronics, Food Service, Health Occupations, Plumbing, Outdoor Power Equipment Technician, On the Job Training Program (OJT), Welding

There is a sense of pride in past achievements, which gives each student a sense of confidence to continue to be at an acceptable level of excellence. The vo-tech’s Automotive Technology program is certified through the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation Inc., Fournier said.

Former vo-tech student and South Terrebonne High School graduate Justin Lowery placed first in the state industrial motor control competition last year. He went on to place third in the national competition.

With a third place honor under his belt, Lowery received a four-year on-job training scholarship with Wayne J. Griffin Electric Inc., a Boston-based electric company.

Lowery will be working out of the North Carolina division.

In a letter from the Louisiana Department of Education, John Birchman made an offer for vo-tech high school welding instructor Steve Crochet to join the National Center for Construction Education and Research Welding Curriculum Committee because of his impeccable welding credentials.

NCCER updates the welding curriculum twice a year in various states.

In addition, the students can become members of the Terrebonne Vo-Tech Chapter of

Skills USA; each class selects a representative to serve on the executive council. The students participate in the Louisiana Skills USA vocational technology competition annually.

Another shinning honor for the students is to be inducted into the Ben J. Arsena Chapter of the National Vocational Technical Honor Society. The society is named after Arsena, the first vo-tech principal in 1974. He remained at the helm for 10 years.

On Oct. 25, all 10th graders from the four Terrebonne Parish high schools will participate in a career awareness day at the parish’s vo-tech high school as part of the South Central Industrial Association’s Work It! Louisiana program.

The education and marketing program is geared toward making students aware of the job opportunities in the Bayou Region. Local businesses will set up booths for the students to visit during the tours.

“The booths should provide vital information such as salaries, working conditions, hours worked and skills required for employment,” Fournier said.

Welding instructor Kevin Crochet (right) teaches Terrebonne High School student Gregory Williams how to properly weld a piece a metal. * Photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN