New Teachers at RTCC
Have Varied Experience
By Sara Nelson

New teachers at the Randolph Technical Career Center are, from left, Bill Zucca, Melanie Staake, Renee Smith, and Tim Murphy. (Herald / Zach Nelson)

The Randolph Technical Career Center has had a new look this semester, as four new teachers have signed on at the Center, which draws students from high schools in Randolph, Bethel, Rochester, South Royalton, Chelsea, Northfield, and Williamstown.

Bill Zucca, Tim Murphy, Renee Smith, and Melanie Staake signed on to teach media and communications, building trades, health careers, and 21^st century business, respectively.

Just a few weeks before winter break, all four teachers, interviewed by The Herald, seemed to be thriving. They had nothing but praise for their students, fellow teachers, and the school itself, in which 11th and 12th graders essentially get a one- or two-year apprenticeship in a career of their choice.

Media Studies

Bill Zucca was born in Florida, but has lived in Vermont for many years, serving as the media specialist and a tech ed teacher in Rochester for 24 of them. Before his teaching days, Zucca worked in television, radio, and video production—his last freelance job was for the 1988 world tour of pop star Michael Jackson.

At RTCC, Zucca’s media and communications class encompasses video and audio production, computer editing, and media literacy. To prepare his students for a field that requires both technical and creative ability, Zucca has them produce several different types of films from start to finish, including the storyboard, script, and sound recording. The class produces some films as a team, while others are group or individual projects.

Zucca said that many students came to the class wanting to copy the style of MTV, and part of his goal is to get them to do work that is more original and personal.

"We have such a rich heritage, and life is so different here. I try to encourage the kids to use their lives as the backdrop," he said.

Zucca said job prospects are good for his students, if they are ambitious.

"There are jobs everywhere, you just have to decide what area you want to work in, and go and do it," he said.

Zucca replaces the previous media and communications teacher, Bill Corey.

Building Trades

Having worked as a builder for 29 years, Tim Murphy is another new teacher who brings a lot of experience to his class. While this is his first time teaching, Murphy has always been interested in education, having served on the South Royalton school board and coached sports for years.

Murphy said he knew he wanted to work at RTCC when he toured the school last year.

"There was such a deep-rooted feeling here," he said. "It felt like home."

As fate would have it, building trades teacher Karl Miller retired from teaching the program Murphy was best qualified for.

Murphy said the biggest challenge so far has been fitting the 72-page syllabus into the 36-week school year. Kids in the program learn a huge range of skills, including concrete work, framing and trim, sheet rock, electrical work, plumbing, and heating. Students learn the skills primarily through real construction projects, most of which benefit the community or "cross-pollinate" with other programs at the school.

Already the class has put in hours restoring the White River Craft Center and started work on a new maple sugarhouse on campus that will be the site of numerous projects for the other programs at RTCC.

In the future, Murphy said he plans to have the students work on the Braintree meeting house, the senior center, and the Jocelyn house.

Murphy said the challenge of fitting everything in is more than made up for by the satisfaction he gets working with the students.
"The teacher before me left me with a great group of kids," he said.

Health Careers

Renee Smith came out of retirement to teach at RTCC. She got here by way of Washington D.C., where she began her career as a neonatal and pediatric nurse, Woodstock, where she worked as a school nurse (her husband taught history there), Washington again, and then Florida, where she retired with her husband in 2006.

He died a year later, and so last summer Smith came up to Vermont to visit her son, who teaches at the Long Trail School. It was during that visit that she saw the ad in the paper for the health careers position at RTCC, which was vacated by Veda Auchter. Smith hadn’t planned on getting a job, but this one, "sounded like me," she said.

Her intuition was right.

"I love coming to school every day. The staff here are probably the best people I have ever worked with—they are passionate and compassionate, and so dedicated to these students."

In class, Smith’s expertise comes into play as she teaches her students the fundamentals of nursing. The class includes the study of anatomy and physiology, the operation of medical equipment, and 45 hours of clinical experience at Gifford. Through the class, the students can get certification as nursing assistants.

"To me this is the best kind of education, because it uses the students’ cognitive and kinetic abilities," Smith said. The varied curriculum also suits Smith’s teaching style.

"I use everything and anything I can get my hands on that will make it real."

Smith said she’s been blessed with students who are "dedicated, incredibly hard-working, caring, and wonderfully talented, with a great sense of humor."

"They’re going to make fantastic nurses, I’m absolutely sure of it," she said.

Business

And finally, taking the reigns from Penny Chamberlain is Melanie Staake, the new teacher of 21^st century business at RTCC.

Staake also came to the school via an interesting route. She grew up in Barre. Staake’s favorite class in high school was business, and her mother was a teacher, a combination of influences that led her to choose to get her college degree in business education.

After she graduated, however, Staake immediately went into business sans education, spending several years consulting for small companies, and then taking time off to raise her family.

The position at RTCC was "the right job at the right time and the right point in my life," she said.
"It’s nice to be able to use the degree I went to school for."

In her class, Staake aims to teach her students administrative skills—from proper phone manners to time management—through hands-on experience. The curriculum includes lots of event planning: students are responsible for coordinating open houses, a winter carnival, and a career day.

"I try to make it relevant," Staake said.

"These skills are needed in Vermont, which is more and more a tourist state with a bigger resort industry."

As far as her teaching style, Staake said she intentionally gives her students the flexibility to learn things on their own, often taking the role of the cheerleader.

"I hope if nothing else they learn more about what they can do," she said.

Golden Group

RTCC principal Bill Sugarman said he was "really happy" with this year’s new crop of teachers.

"We’ve so far managed to get smart, caring compassionate, focused educators," he said.

"We’re golden."