High School Alternatives : Trade Schools

Saunders Trades and Technical High school in Yonkers, New York is not like your average high school. Along with taking regular high school classes students are given  opportunity to learn how to design a building, sew their own clothes, or even cook a three course meal! 

Saunders offers a total of 10 trade programs for students to study while continuing their studies of state mandated work. The school has three different programs -Technical, Occupational, and Vocational. The Technical program includes ECC (Electrical Computer Circuitry), CFM (Construction Facilities Management), and Architecture. This program is a bit harder to get into because it requires a minimum of an 85 GPA. The occupational program does not require a minimum GPA. This program includes Fashion Design, Culinary Arts, Graphic Design and Cosmetology. Vocational does not require a specific average. The majors in this program are HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning), Carpentry, and Automotive. 

When students enter the school as a freshman, they ballot for the major they are interested in.  When they get accepted into the major of their choice, the students begin studying for only one period in the day.  Sophomore through Senior year, the students go to their major for 3 periods a day of out 9.  The day at Saunders is a bit longer than average high schools due to the study time they need for their classes.  In order to graduate with a CTE (Career and Technical Education) degree, students must take a NOCTI exam at the end of Senior Year that includes both written and hand on parts of the test. 

I visited Saunders to interview the teachers to get their thoughts and opinions on the school, its programs and trade schools in general. I visited the Fashion department, HVAC, and Architecture to get more details on the school and programs.