New Major At Middlesex County Vocational And Technical Schools

This post was submitted by Joseph Bakes of the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School District

The Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools introduced a new career major in advanced manufacturing and expanded its graphic design shops to two additional schools as it began its second century and a new school year on Sept. 9.

The new major – Pre-engineering and Manufacturing Technology – is housed in a new shop on the East Brunswick campus. Areas of concentration will include mechanical technology, electronics, and pneumatics and hydraulics.

It will include instruction on tools, materials, production process, machine operations, automated line operations, technical and quality control, engineering analysis, instrumentation, programmable logic controllers, process control, computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, and robotics.

“There’s been a major renovation of the room, from the ground up,” said Sean McDonald, MCVTS director of career and technical education. “It is designed to be a flexible manufacturing lab facility. There are simulated manufacturing areas that can be moved in and out.”

A number of industry partners have been advising the district on the curriculum needed to develop and replenish a skilled workforce. The program is designed to align with post-secondary training and majors in colleges such as NJIT and Middlesex County College. It is expected that high school students will be able to receive college credit through articulation agreements.

The graphic design major, which has been in operation on the East Brunswick campus for a number of years, has been expanded to the Perth Amboy and Piscataway campuses. Students are instructed in the elements of art and the principles of design, as well as in the use of cutting-edge technology. Potential careers include graphic artist, graphic designer, art director, and web designer.

“All three of the instructors have very good backgrounds in the graphic design industry,” McDonald said.

In addition, two physics labs on the East Brunswick campus were renovated over the summer, and lighting on both the East Brunswick and Piscataway campuses was retrofitted to make it more energy efficient.

The district’s honors and advanced placement offerings are being expanded on all campuses, with additional teachers undergoing training.

Enrollment has continued to trend upward throughout the district, according to Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dianne Veilleux. Total enrollment increase by 73 students to 2,195.

Veilleux said college acceptances also increased with the class of 2015. Among the institutions accepting MCVTS students were Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Cal Tech, Carnegie Mellon, NJIT, Stevens Institute, the United States Military Academy, New York University, Boston Conservatory and the Culinary Institute of America.

The Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School District, the first full-time county vocational school district in the nation, has seven schools on five campuses, in East Brunswick, Edison, Piscataway, Perth Amboy and Woodbridge. Perth Amboy Vo-Tech, the Edison Academy and the Woodbridge Academy have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools. The East Brunswick Campus has been designated a National Green Ribbon School in recognition of its “green” curriculum and sustainable building management practices.