A School Department spokeswoman said the Allied Health program has undergone many changes and improvements this year.
A student demonstration outside Putnam Vocational Technical HIgh School on Friday was apparently triggered by untrue rumors that its Allied Health program was in immediate jeopardy.SPRINGFIELD – A student demonstration outside Putnam Vocational Technical High School on Friday was apparently triggered by untrue rumors that its Allied Health program was in immediate jeopardy, according to a School Department spokeswoman.
Twenty-three seniors in the Allied Health program took part in the demonstration, said Azell M. Cavaan, communications director for the public schools. Administrators went outside and spoke to the students, and students subsequently appeared to disband on their own, she said.
“There has been a lot of upheaval in the Allied Health program,” Cavaan said.
The program came under the scrutiny of the state Board of Health a year ago because of curriculum problems and needed improvements, she said.
The school, for example, faced the problem last year of a dwindling number of health facilities willing to accept the students for clinical hours, Cavaan said.
However, rumors that the program had lost its accreditation, or that seniors would not be able to take a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) examination, needed for graduation, were untrue, Cavaan said. The CNA examination will be given in May, she said.
A rumor that program instructors were uncertified also was untrue, Cavaan said.
Gilbert E. Traverso, who took over as school principal this year, has spent the year improving the curriculum and working with area health agencies to provide students with work-clinical experience, Cavaan said.
“We have every reason to believe the steps taken over the course of this year to improve the Allied Health program have been beneficial to the students,” Cavaan said.
A student representative was not available Friday to discuss the demonstration, and Traverso could not be reached for comment.