Jeffrey Scheminger, Nashoba Technical School's technical director, shows an artist's rendering of the school's new manufacturing, robotics and design building. (Courtesy of Nashoba Tech)
WESTFORD — Nashoba Valley Technical High School officially broke ground on a 7,000-square-foot addition on Friday, April 12, along with dozens of school, district and state officials.
A major expansion and modernization project at a regional technical school is moving forward thanks to three state grants totaling $6.75 million.
Superintendent Dennis Pidgeon said the new building is a highlight of the project and will allow the school to increase enrollment for the district's students, who currently face a waiting list and will soon be able to enroll. He said that the number of students enrolled is expected to increase in the future.
“Our school's history began in 1968 with 255 students,” Pidgeon told the crowd gathered at the groundbreaking ceremony.
The district added a wing in the 1980s and then began a $25 million renovation and expansion that added two wings and was completed in 2005, Pigeon said.
“This year, I am honored to see the Nashoba Tech district grow to 757 students, the highest student population since the 1980s,” Pidgeon said. “And I think next year we'll reach 800. The demand for vocational education has never been greater.”
This project is the result of a Chapter 74 Vocational Instruction Space Facility Expansion grant from the state. The $3.75 million grant will add a new building on the east side of campus, creating a state-of-the-art manufacturing, robotics and design training facility.
Nashoba Technical College will also receive $2.5 million to modernize and expand educational lab space in its electrical technology and veterinary assistant programs, allowing it to increase enrollment in those programs by 50 percent.
Finally, the district received a $500,000 grant to replace outdated equipment in the cosmetology program. The grant-funded project will also expand the school's Adult Career Training Institute.
Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler also attended.
“I just think about how important this expansion is and the fact that it fulfills what we're trying to do in the career technical education field and frankly what we're trying to do in the high school field. What we want to convey is more opportunities for students to do hands-on, applied learning,” Tutweiler said. “Grants like this allow students and educators to experience career technical education in a state-of-the-art space that provides better tools, better materials, modern equipment, and infrastructure so that when students leave here, can reflect what you see.”
Nashoba Tech actually received the grant under former Gov. Charlie Baker's administration in January 2023, just before Baker left office.
“For me, the gold nugget in all of this is very simple: What we learn in the store and in the classroom and what our students are experiencing here is a reflection of what they will experience in their next step.” said Tutwiler. ”
Industry partners working with Nashova Tech to utilize the grant include Insulet Corporation of Acton, TÜV Rheinland of Littleton, Keystone Precision and Engineering of Pepperell, TRAK Machine Tools of Boxborough, and Westford. Red Hat, as well as the Middlesex 3 Union of Nashoba Valley. Chamber of Commerce, North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium, Mount Wachusett Community College, Middlesex Community College, and four MassHire Workforce boards.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by school committee members and other officials from Nashoba Technical College's eight school towns (Ayre, Chelmsford, Groton, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend, and Westford), as well as state legislators representing the towns. , representatives from Littleton were also in attendance. The chosen builder was US-based Triumph Modular and several MassHire associates.
-Nashoba Valley Technical High School
