I went to Cheney Tech, it's been a few years but I can try and answer your questions.

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The technical high schools are absolutely hands on with the tech learning. having graduated from one of them myself, it is a free way to get valuable skills and knowledge that can be used throughout life. and if partway though he decides that it is not his thing, can always transfer out of the tech school and into the normal high school in your district. if I had to re-do highschool, would choose the tech school again hands down.

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They all are. If you don't want your kid to have the option to go to a decent college because you don't want to pay the tuition then send them to a tech school and you won't have to worry about them even applying to college.

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It is very hit and miss. If your son is a sped kid, like I was, I would not go. If I could go back on time, I would not have gone to Cheney. their sped program sucked.

Shop was extremely satisfying, but not all shops are equal. I studied Culinary Arts and was not trained as a chef but as a cook. Whereas I know a woman from welding who mak3s nearly 200k as an exotic welder.

From what I can tell, the absolute minimum number of people from my graduating class are still in their high school trade. Most went military or did something else.

Academic wise, it is kind of hit or miss. My friend says that the AP classes he took were challenging and useful towards his degree, but it's been more than ten years, and he still doesn't have one for several reasons. I personally found the academics to be a joke.

It is also my opinion that good teachers generally don't go to teach at trade schools.

I also have some hang ups with the way they administrated the school and the way security acted.

If I could go back in time, I would still go to Cheney, though. I made some great friends there, and personally, I find that to the redeeming factor.

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This is very hyperbolic. I went to a decent college, and I have several friends who got into decent colleges.

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Went to Ellis tech in Danielson (I know not Hartford, but all the tech schools are the same system) about a decade ago. I would definitely say you would get out of your shop what you put into it. If you just wanted to skate by doing the minimum you could, same with the academic side. With that said, people who try and are good at the shop work are typically recognized by shop teachers who would do their best in getting them in contact with local businesses to have them hired.

I do stand by the fact that being in shop helps develop skills that help post education. We would get assigned a list of things that we had to complete by the end of our current shop set, have a bigger project that would have to be done in a couple of sets, have schedule theory lessons and tests. We would have to ensure that we'd be able to make sure we could be self productive and prioritize our time to make sure we would get our work done .

When it comes to the end of junior and senior year, the school did not put as much focus on having to go to college as other schools do. But with that said, college is still an option for anyone going through a tech high school.

I have still kept in touch with my shop teachers post high school and have heard that a lot has changed and more and more of the shop time has been taken away for academic learning.

I know my parents were upset when I said I wanted to go to a tech high school, but I have had no regrets about it since then and they won't admit that they were upset about it either.

Yea, this is not easy for me to say, but I was heavily discriminated against by teachers and administration, and I have friends who face the same thing.

Honestly, culinary is the worst choice. I worked in kitchens for 5 years and hated them so much that I opted to join the Army so I could get free college. I honestly feel that Basic was less stressful than any cooking job I worked.

I went to a vocational school, unfortunately many of these schools become depositories for shitty kids. The Sound School would have been great for me, unfortunately it was full of kids with behavioral issues and were pretty violent. This was in the 2000’s idk if it’s changed though. Look for schools that are normal public schools for the town that integrate vocational studies.

You act like getting into is all that matters both my kids were accepted to college neither went.they’re both were making over 50000 a year before turning 21

I went to Oliver wolcott in Torrington and felt as though it was the best choices I’ve made for my own education. If they want to learn a trade, THAT is the school to go to

I took automotive in Emmett O’Brien tech and graduated back in 2011. I never went into automotive as a trade do to a hard time finding a job in the field that was entry level (the Naugatuck valley was still reeling the the 2008 housing market crash and a lot of older guys took oil change jobs as a second job) that being said I have saved a hell of a lot of time and money being able to work on my own car and I couldn’t tell you how many friends and family members I’ve helped. I would definitely recommend a tech high school but as a few people said already you get what you put into it.

My years valedictorian in Emmett got a full ride through UConn

I also went to Emmett! You really do get what you put in, and not all shops are created equal. Don’t look at the school itself, but the shop of that school. Culinary is a popular field with a highly elusive job market on the chef side, but if he’s passionate it will do wonders more than a home-ec class. Go to the open house and ask the shop instructors questions! Gauge how you think they would help your son. Different schools also offer different shops, masonry and welding are not at Emmett but are at Norwich Tech and some other schools. The big trades: plumbing electric & hvac are typically awesome programs that get you in a good career shortly after graduating. Best of luck to you and your fam!

UConn has valedictorian and salutatorian scholarships for all high schools in the state.

That being said, you don't need to be one of those spots to go to UConn from a tech school. I wasn't and got a partial scholarship to UConn, a full ride to University of Hartford, and a full ride to Three Rivers Community College.