Davies offering students an early start to stronger future

THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS: William M. Davies Jr. Career & Technical High School students, from left, Miracle Dunn, Aiden Nivar-Julius, Dorothy Tavares and Madyisen DaGraca sharpen their cooking skills in a culinary class.  / COURTESY WILLIAM M. DAVIES JR. CAREER & TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS: William M. Davies Jr. Career & Technical High School students, from left, Miracle Dunn, Aiden Nivar-Julius, Dorothy Tavares and Madyisen DaGraca sharpen their cooking skills in a culinary class. / COURTESY WILLIAM M. DAVIES JR. CAREER & TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL

PBN Business Excellence Awards 2020
Excellence in Education: William M. Davies Jr. Career & Technical High School


STUDENTS WHO ATTEND the William M. Davies Jr. Career & Technical High School in Lincoln earn more than just a traditional education. The young minds who walk through the school’s hallways are put on an immediate pathway to a skills-based career of their choice.

Davies offers students hands-on training in an ­array of programs, including culinary arts, automotive, graphics and interactive media, health careers, electrical and renewable energy, machine technology, biotechnology and engineering.

“We provide [students] with a full career and technical and academic education, they meet all of the same graduation requirements as a regular high school, plus they basically have a major in one of our now eight career and technical programs,” Davies Director Adam Flynn-Tabloff said.

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Davies also recently upgraded its machine-technology program with a new state-of-the-art facility. Davies consistently updates its programs and facilities in order to provide students a proper education. To help with the improvements, the school received $3.7 million from the state of Rhode Island to upgrade its Center of Advanced Manufacturing, which consists of biomanufacturing pre-engineering, electrical and machine-technology training.

Davies works with industry partners to ensure students have real-world experience in their career path, including biotechnology company Amgen Inc., the Warwick Sewer Authority and the Community College of Rhode Island’s bio lab. Approximately 100 companies are considered active partners, meaning they bring students on for work-based learning.

“Most of our industry partners that come in are amazed and say sometimes our facilities are in better condition than theirs,” Davies Supervisor of Career and Technical Education Susan Votto said. “It has all state-of-the-art equipment. I would say 99%, if not 100%, of those students get offered a job placement upon graduation.”

Flynn-Tabloff said all students must meet a work-based learning requirement to graduate from Davies. Students must currently complete 50 hours to graduate. Next year, that requirement will increase to 80 hours.

Flynn-Tabloff said the school’s students frequently receive praise and job offers from their partners, partially because they are trained in not only the requirements of their career path but also in “soft skills.” It is the combination of focus on technical skills, soft skills and rigorous academic standards that sets Davies apart from other schools.

“I think that’s a great benefit for us that we’re all under one building, both academics and career and tech,” Votto said. “And when we do career and professional development, it is the whole school, not CTE on one side and academics on the other. It’s one vision on both sides of the house.”

As with everything, the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for Davies. Flynn-Tabloff said the school reopened at 50%, and like any school, it has dealt with bumps in the road. “We’ve been able to maintain a focus on teaching and learning and focus on still getting students the career and technical training that they need with adjustments made,” he said.

Flynn-Tabloff praised the work of the school’s academic and career and technical teachers, noting those on the career and technical side have worked very hard to get students the training that they need. They’ve also been mindful of social distancing and the guidelines that must be followed to operate safely. In addition, the students, he said, have been extremely helpful and cooperative, including being conscientious of wearing masks.

However, CTE programs have had their own difficulties. Flynn-Tabloff said the school had to make changes, including to health careers. That career path requires clinical experience, which has been mostly performed at nursing homes in the past that can’t happen right now. Davies is working to gain approval to use its own facilities, which are equipped for clinical rotations.

The school has also been attempting to find different ways to allow for work-based learning, including a virtual solution for students who have yet to complete their 50-hour graduation requirement.

“We have to remember there’s a reason why work-based learning was prioritized in Rhode Island, and that’s because it’s valuable and it provides students something that they cannot truly get in the traditional school setting,” Flynn-Tabloff said.

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