Date: 10/20/2021
My name is John E Cotton and I am running for the position of trustee of Smith Vocational and Technical High School.
I have a long history with Smith Vocational:
Sixteen years as a dept. head and teacher of Computer Programming and Software, it was at this time I learned how to do department budgets, interacting with my teaching partners and dealing with energetic students not realizing one day I would be evaluating budgets from the other side of the process.
Seven years as teacher of data processing at the academic level, learning the change in teaching of a subject from programming to operating, it is a total different view plus dealing with triple the students. I now knew the differentness between both forms of teaching having done both.
I retired in 2000 after 23 years of service.
In 2002 I had the opportunity to run for the position of trustee and because of my feelings for the school I ran and was elected and have served to the present.
In that time, I have served:
Four years as chairman, four years as vice-chairman and the rest as a trustee.
I am also the person that has studied the Oliver Smith Will, the cornerstone on which Smith Vocational was founded.
Smith Vocational is the oldest vocational school in the State of Massachusetts and is the only school founded by a will and not by a city or the state. It is an independent school affiliated with, but separate from, the City of Northampton.
I am happy to say that with my two elected colleges we have been able to move Smith Vocational forward because of the excellent administration and teaching staff.
Smith Vocational is the only school that has sent students to the World Skills competitions to represent the United States of America, in:
• Auto Body, Canada (2008),
• Plumbing: Germany (2012), Abu Dhabi (2017) and Russia (2019). We have a 50 percent chance at this time for France (2022)
The school has been in the US Skills Competitions over many years showing the highest training in the trades.
On the academic side we have added arts and languages, many of our students go on to higher education.
Business is waiting for our students to graduate in order to hire them. Some in fact, have students working for them under the COOP plan.
No one person makes a school function, but to see ahead when ideas are presented is the function of a vibrant group and Smith has these people.
It is the trustee function to recognize the idea and guide it to its final result while assisting in the movement of the school to a higher level of excellence.
I have been part of that special group and with your help will remain so, and it is for this reason that I ask for your vote in this coming election.
Thank you.
John E. Cotton
Northampton
