DC Tech students Cedrickia Hawkins, Mohammad Tanveer, Nila Cobb and Jeremiah Ellison.
It’s been five years since Harrisburg students transferred to the Dauphin County Technical School, following the closure of the district’s Career Technology Academy.
So, how’s it going for city students?
Based on my informal survey, the answer seems to be, “Not perfect, but pretty well.”
Nila Cobb, an 11th-grade web design student from Harrisburg, said she was “so surprised” by the friendliness of students when she first came to DC Tech in the ninth grade.
“Everyone was so nice and polite, and you had so much support,” she said. “Coming here definitely made me a better person, but I’m still myself.”
Cedrickia Hawkins, a 12th-grade carpentry student, admitted that “it was tough” when she first came to the tech school.
“At Harrisburg, there wasn’t a dress code or a lot of rules,” she said. “But coming here was good. It was much friendlier here, especially with the seniors. It was ‘Hi, hi, hi’ whenever you passed somebody in the hall. The teachers were happy here, too.”
So Much Help
It all started in January 2011 when 12 carpentry students transferred to Dauphin County Tech after Harrisburg’s John Harris campus closed its vocational program. Four Harrisburg sophomores attended Tech’s morning session, with juniors and seniors attending in the afternoon.
“One of the students said that this was carpentry on steroids here,” said Dauphin County Technical School Director Peggy Grimm. “The (John Harris) program was dying financially,”
Preceding the Harrisburg students’ arrival was carpentry instructor Tim Carroll, who transferred to DC Tech in November 2010 after teaching 21 years at John Harris.
“We were thrilled that we were able to hire Tim Carroll,” Grimm said. “He was instrumental in our transition process. Everyone involved in that whole transition process had the kids in the forefront. It involved a lot of work.”
Carroll explained the differences between the two programs.
“Both places have their good points,” he said. “It’s so much easier here (at DC Tech) because we have so much help. Carpentry ran smoothly at John Harris; they just kind of left us alone. I worked by myself for so long that I had to get used to having aides.”
Today, 240 Harrisburg students attend DC Tech, with some enrolled in each of the school’s two-dozen programs. The school’s total enrollment numbers around 1,000, pulling students from much of the county.
Harrisburg students attend the tech school on a tuition basis, meaning that the district pays a flat rate per student. Member school districts pay annual fees based on a weighted five-year attendance average. Currently, administrators are considering upgrading Harrisburg’s status to a member school district.
High Expectations
Grimm said there were definitely “bumps in the road” when Harrisburg students first transferred to DC Tech.
“We had expectations for them, and they were high expectations,” Grimm recalled. “We had a few fierce conversations. A few students ended up going back to Harrisburg.”
In particular, some students objected to the uniform requirement.
In 2009, the school adopted a dress and grooming policy that requires students to wear “professional dress.” This involves shirts that clearly display the DCTS logo or an approved design or embroidery for individual programs. Programs such as food service, health assistants or diesel technology require additional garments like scrubs or coveralls.
“Our uniform requirement was a big thing for them, but, as time moved on, we stayed consistent with our expectations,” Grimm said. “Our expectations for respect stayed. Some Harrisburg students still have discipline problems, but so does every district.”
With time, Hawkins, a senior, said she came around to the requirement.
“I really understand now why they have a dress code here,” she said. “It’s more professional.”
Jeremiah Ellison, a 12th-grade drafting and design technology student, said he tended to stick with other Harrisburg students when he first came to the tech school in ninth grade, but began to mix with others after a while.
“As the year went by, I started to talk to more and more people, and it became easier for me,” he recalled.
So what does Ellison find different about DC Tech compared to Marshall Math Science Academy, which he attended in the Harrisburg district?
“There were only about 150 kids at the Math Science Academy,” he said. “It was very small and very quiet. In Harrisburg, we played around a lot more. Here (at DC Tech) we try to mix it up, you know, like with work and play.”
Mohammad Tanveer, a 12th-grade electronics technology student, moved here from Brooklyn, N.Y. He spent a year in the Harrisburg district before moving on to DC Tech. As with other Harrisburg students, it took some time before he got used to his new school.
“I was like, ‘Where are the metal detectors?’” Tanveer recalled with a laugh. “I saw a wide variety of people that I never saw before. I heard barking and said ‘What’s that?’ and then I realized that there’s a veterinary assistant course here.”
New students must get comfortable working not just with new faces but for the good of their team.
“Teamwork is a huge element of what we have here,” said Principal Jon Fox. “The kids have to work together.”
Carroll, the John Harris instructor who moved to DC Tech, views the situation with a philosophical edge.
“Kids all come here with different attitudes, but deep down, kids are just kids,” he said. “We get rid of the rough edges real quick. Over there (at John Harris), they had to act real tough. It was fight or flight there. Here, kids can relax a little bit.”
For more information about Dauphin County Technical School, visit www.dcts.org.
