SPENCER, MA - July 5, 2023 - Recently, Associate Commissioner for the Office for College, Career, and Technical Education, Elizabeth L. Bennett, at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) approved David Prouty High School's Chapter 74 application for Environmental Science and Technology. This approval increases the value of the certificates our students will earn in their fields. A Chapter 74 Certificate assures both colleges and employers that the student has classroom and hands-on experience that meets the most rigorous standards in the nation.
Environmental Science and Technology teacher James Barnett is excited about the environmental science and technology program's approval. "Mr. Barnett worked hard to earn his Chapter 74 teaching license, which is an important part of the approval process... The approval process also requires a time commitment on the part of parents, students, college professors, and community members who have helped take the chapter 74 programs from ideas on paper to reality," said Superintendent of Schools Paul Haughey.
In brief, without everyone working together on this process over these past four years, none of these career and technical education programs would be approved by DESE and in existence today… "Mr. Barnett is a credit to our learning community. He is an exceptional role model for our students and works so well with members of our community... On behalf of all of us here in the Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District, congratulations to Mr. Barnett and David Prouty High School for earning this program approval from DESE.”
David Prouty High School now has four DESE approved Chapter 74 programs: Criminal Justice, Early Education and Care, Marketing/Business, and Environmental Science and Technology. In addition, DPHS offers the College Board's AP Diploma program, and Fine Arts pathways in Music and Visual Arts.
To read the actual letter from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, click here.
For more information about this exciting news, please contact:
Nathaniel P. Malone, Principal
David Prouty High School
508-885-8505
302 Main Street
Spencer, Massachusetts 01562
or
Paul S. Haughey, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District