LETTER: Time to retool school and teach the trades

August 5, 2023

To the community: 

I have long believed that cutting Industrial Arts from our local school was a mistake. 

Everyone needs those basic skills, and young people deserve to have a good education at their local school rather than having to go elsewhere, or wait until they are older, in order to learn those skills. 

Now that we are seeing the repeated flooding all over Vermont it's clear to me that our shortage of electricians, plumbers, carpenters and other tradespeople is really at a critical stage. Those are good local jobs that can not be outsourced and, from all appearances, they are going to be more needed than ever in upcoming years. 

It's time we retool our schools so that the next generation is prepared to take care of itself as this planet becomes even more unpredictable.

Sarah Page

Duxbury