Every day, Frank Mascetta meets his students at the door of his classroom with a handshake. It sets the tone for his class, where all of his students are treated like the emerging professionals that he’s training them to be.
Mascetta has been teaching electrical construction at Southern Westchester BOCES for 27 years, and during that time, he’s built a strong rapport with his students that’s based on mutual respect and learning by example.
As part of the two-year National Center for Construction Education and Research program, Mascetta’s students will be introduced to the ins and outs of residential and commercial wiring systems – from reading prints to planning circuits and bending pipes. By their second year, they’ll be designing and installing their own electrical systems in one of the framed-up model homes that range across the warehouse-size classroom, and Mascetta will be acting more like a foreman than a teacher. “I give them the job sheet when they walk in and I don’t help them unless they’re really stuck,” he said. “I’m a firm believer that they have to learn how to feed themselves.”
Of course, there’s ample time for instruction in Mascetta’s classes, and the veteran electrician-turned-educator provides plenty of directions to his students, first in larger groups settings and then in smaller work groups, but Mascetta has also discovered that the majority of his students are hands-on learners who benefit from applying new skills to real-world situations.
“They start to understand because they’ve touched it,” Mascetta said. “That’s how they learn.”
Like many Career and Technical Education programs, soft skills play a big role in success, and along with memorizing National Electrical Code, all Mascetta’s students learn to assemble resumes and talk to prospective employers, so that when they emerge from the program with their certification, they’ll be well-prepared for their first apprenticeship.
The students produce short video tutorials on common electrical topics to increase their comfort level talking about industry processes and boost their confidence.
They also participate in a debate about attending college, with each student choosing a side -- “for” or “against” -- and presenting a clear and well-researched argument for that path.
Mascetta said the discussion helps students understand the merits of both approaches, but that at the end of the day it’s up to them to decide. “They say, ‘Mr. Mascetta, what should I do?’ I say, ‘It’s your choice. It’s your parents' choice. My job is to prepare you for either path.’”
The Electrical Construction program is just one of 19 CTE tracks offered at the popular Southern Westchester BOCES, which currently enrolls more than 800 students from 32 different districts, and has growing waitlists for many of its top programs.
BOCES and other CTE programs can be a major economic boon for communities because they prepare students to get well-paid, in-demand jobs right out of high school, but without proper funding, these programs will keep leaving students out, said Mairead Schuelein, president of the Southern Westchester BOCES Teachers Association.
“This year there were waitlists for at least six of our programs, including nursing assistant, automotive technician, animal science, and construction plumbing,” said Schuelein. “Higher reimbursements from the districts would allow us to increase capacity. Additionally, if there were improvements to the BOCES Aid formula, districts would hopefully have more money to be able to have additional students attend our programs.”
Southern Westchester BOCES continues to expand programs to reflect the very latest industry needs and standards; paradoxically, state funding formulas for BOCES haven’t been updated since 1992.
This legislative session, NYSUT is asking the Legislature to pass S.5024/A.7481, which reforms BOCES and Special Services funding formula to ensure that CTE programs receive the funding they need to grow.
The legislation will increase reimbursement for CTE, address critical workforce shortages, and maintain and modernize state aid to ensure that calculations and data reflect current circumstances. For example, new special education requirements and sudden enrollment shifts due to new Americans may be increasing demand for CTE programs, and BOCES funding should adequately reflect those populations shifts.
Back in Mascetta’s classroom, the students are putting away their materials and readying themselves for their trip back to their home districts. One by one, they come find Mascetta, and shake his hand before they leave.
“I’ve got 44 years in the system. I want to retire, but I can’t because I love the kids,” he said. “It’s driving my wife crazy,” he adds with a laugh.