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Take a spin on the globe and you will eventually find a little state called Rhode Island. You will also find a student that goes to The WACTC Vocational School who has grown academically, that's me. This little state contains about 1,053,209 people and is growing every day. Rhode Island is known for its beaches and sea food. The state is also known to have the kindest hearted people anyone will meet in their lifetime. However, the state has some ups and downs.

The vocational school is known for its academics. I myself have improved a great deal during this school year. Back at my other school, I had horrible teachers and my grades were somewhat poor. When I decided to go to the WACTC my grades were astounding. I had gotten high honors for 3 quarters. My grades have never been better.

Recently the lawmakers in RI passed a $7.8 million bill that limits schools budgets, aid to the town, etc. Back in 2009 the teachers at Woonsocket High School and WACTC (Woonsocket Career and Technical Center also known as the Voc) did not get paid for a certain amount of days because the state simply could not find a way to pay them. Luckily, there had been no known riots during this time. Because of the low money situation Dr. Robert Gerardi decided to make some staffing cuts including the principal and vice principal at the WACTC. About 241 teachers had been given notice that they may get laid off. School officials have even thought about closing the vocational school which I ,and many other go to. It seems simply impossible to find a solution.

In order to fix this catastrophe I must devise a plan to fix the money issue. There are a plethora of core classes at the vocational school such as Culinary, Game Design, Child Care, Health Care, Graphic Design, Construction, etc. Kids enrolled in the Culinary class at WACTC could come up with a bake sale to raise money for the school. No one could pass up a few baked goods. The Construction teachers and students would not mind building a home for people who need to redesign their homes for a cheaper price. Residents residing in RI would be more than happy to help out and chip in. I would also recommend studying before the students take the NECAP or any other standardized tests. If all of the students improve on their scores the state gives the schools more money to use.

The principal at Woonsocket High School explained to us that if we the students do well on the NECAPS we would be awarded. As a man of his word, he did just that. He held a pep rally in the auditorium congratulating all of the kids that did very well on the test. I, as many other students got certificates of achievement for completing the reading, writing, and mathematical tests. Kids who only achieved a 3 or 4 on the test would be given the certificates. The state saw this and decided to give a small sum of money to the school, not enough to help out, but it is more money than what the school had before.

Sadly, more bad news struck on June 23, 2010. Robert Gerardi held a meeting with the teachers, faculty, students, and parents. The meeting explained that the High School and Vocational School would be joined as one, meaning that the core classes like Game Design would not be a core class but instead be an elective. Multiple students and parents were outraged. This would mean that other students not enrolled in the core class would be chosen to go into that class. The voc would just contain classes like History, Math, Science, etc. Like I explained before Gerardi fired the Principal and Vice principal and is still thinking about firing some of the teachers. We need to stop this before it gets out of hand.

In conclusion, the school should get more money to help with its financial needs. There is no reason that this should have happened. People like Gerardi should not be in charge of money if they don't know how to use it.

If the vocational school closes the students at the school will have nowhere to go. They would have to go back to the town they once came from. I would no longer be able to get the grades that I once achieved.

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