We collaborate with several local community partners to provide students with apprenticeship opportunities geared towards building the vocational skills they need for life after school.
Animal Husbandry – Merrymac Farm
Merrymac is a nonprofit farm sanctuary dedicated to rescuing and providing lifelong care for a wide variety of farm animals. The sanctuary is home to pigs, goats, cows, horses, ducks, turkeys, chickens, rabbits, and other animals who have often been rescued from neglect, injury, or unsafe living conditions.
Through this partnership, a small group of students visit the sanctuary on a weekly basis to participate in hands-on learning experiences and volunteer service. During these visits, students have the opportunity to develop empathy and compassion while learning about animal welfare, common medical conditions affecting farm animals, and the unique histories of individual animals living at the sanctuary. Students also contribute meaningful assistance to the sanctuary by helping with daily care tasks such as feeding animals, grooming, cleaning enclosures, and maintaining the animals’ living spaces. These activities allow students to practice responsibility and teamwork while supporting the ongoing work of the sanctuary and deepening their understanding of humane animal care.
Mechanics and Welding – Bushey’s Auto and The Honest Mechanic
We currently work with two different local mechanics to provide students with both apprenticeship opportunities and hands-on classes in auto mechanics.
Construction – Vermont Construction Academy (VCA)
The Vermont Construction Academy provides hands-on training and certification in construction skills. Their program is designed to give students the foundational skills they need to enter into an entry-level carpenter position. Students have the opportunity to attend their classes, and we also work with them on projects at our school. In the fall, they partnered with us to build an outdoor pizza oven!
Culinary – To expand vocational learning we’ve developed programming around culinary skill instruction. Students are given the opportunity to rotate into the kitchen for one block a day to assist with lunch preparation, with a focus on knife skills, safe food handling techniques, sauce and dressing recipes, and varied vegetable and meat preparations. Additionally, culinary electives are offered on a regular basis.
We are also in the process of partnering with two local food businesses to offer cooking apprenticeships for interested students.
