New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte stopped into Hudson last week, on Friday morning, Nov. 21, for a tour of the Wilbur E. Palmer Career and Technical Education Center at Alvirne High School, where she noted that bringing back the trades in the granite state has been a focus of her administration.
A number of school officials escorted Ayotte through the halls and classrooms of the Palmer Center, including CTE Director Dr. Eric Frauwirth, who led the way. Also attending were Superintendent of Schools Daniel Moulis; Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Jessica Benson and School Board Chair, Maureen Dionne.
One of the first questions raised in the beginning of the tour was how the school was adapting to the newly established “bell-to-bell” ban on cell phones across the state.
Frauwirth told the Governor that the ban has had its challenges, but students usually put phones away when they are asked to.
The first student Ayotte was approached by during her tour of the facility was junior Julia Coelho who talked with the governor about the ban and askied about the locking pouches being used in some schools.
The governor said that the ban is “very do-able” without the pouches, but said that the way schools control cell phone use is left up to individual districts.
She added that she has a son, who’s a senior at Bishop Guertin, and she feels that the ban gives students a break from having to immediately react to what’s going on outside of school and keeps them focused on learning.
She also stressed that teachers shouldn’t have the burden of policing student’s cell phone use in class.
The tour had the Governor visiting a number of classrooms in the Palmer Center, including: Health Science and the newly added Dental Hygiene Program; Welding and Fabrication; Heavy Duty Construction; Engineering; Veterinary Science; the Alvirne Farm; and the Culinary Arts at the Barnyard Café.
While at the the Dental Hygiene, Ayotte spoke with Dr. Julie Nelson about how Alvirne is one of just two school’s in the state to have a dental assistant program.
Nelson said that the program is just beginning and they had three students last year taking advantage of the program and current have two. Nelson said her hope is to have a maximum of six.
She was also working on ways to help students get accredited for jobs right out of high school to which Ayotte expressed an interest in helping her achieve that.
The tour concluded at the Barnyard Café, where members of the Gateway Adult Day Center were visiting the school for a function in the dining hall.
At the Barnyard, she met with Alvirne Principal Steve Beals and further discussed some of the schools many amenities.