Hodgson Vo-Tech opens new $211M school
in Glasgow

“It took intentionality, which we don’t sometimes see in our industry, because we can be very efficient and the margins can be low,” DiSabatino told the Delaware Business Times. “I think what this showed us is that sometimes we overfocus and miss the opportunity to bring really good people on board.”

“We broke down what might have been considered all the traditional paradigms that created perceptual barriers to making this happen,” he added.

At Monday’s ribbon cutting ceremony, Superintendent of New Castle County Vocational Technical School District Joseph Jones described seeing beyond the cost and materials used in the 304,000 square-foot building.

“While it’s impressive, it’s really beyond concrete, steel and dollars. It’s about what’s possible for our students and our community. It’s about people believing in this school and to build and develop something worthy of our students,” Jones said.

Hodgson Vo-Tech is one of four vocational schools in New Castle County, each combining academics and hands-on job training in trades, health and human services and more. The idea is that students can choose programs that interest them and earn credentials for their field of work, giving them a jump start in their career. In most cases, vo-tech seniors transition to splitting days between school and work.

The high school in Glasgow was first built in 1972 and was not intended to be a comprehensive high school. Back then, Hodgson was designed as a half-day program for Newark High School. As a result, the building had a small cafeteria and no auditorium and very few windows.

The new high school addresses all of these issues and then some. It’s 20,000 square feet bigger than the previous school, has an outdoor student courtyard, weight room, wrestling room and a gymnasium with 1,220 seats.

It also includes a state-of-the-art lab, as well as shop space for 17 career programs, ranging from dentistry, nursing, carpentry and masonry, biopharmaceutical science and more.

During the ribbon cutting ceremony, Gov. Matt Meyer said that the new Hodgson High School Building may be criticized for its price tag but called it “the smartest investment” the state could make in a world where employers are looking for day-one ready employees.

“Delaware students deserve learning environments that match their ambition and prepare them for the real world. . . and that’s exactly what this facility gives us: state-of-the-art labs, shops, and classrooms where students learn the exact skills that employers across the state are actively looking for right now,” Meyer said.

“This building says loudly and clearly that a career in the trades is not a second choice; it’s a first-class path to a successful career and successful life,” the governor added. “Hodgson students now have a facility that reflects that truth.”

In addition, 24 Hodgson students interned for the contractors on the construction project through co-op placements. Across the district, 800 students worked through a co-op, paired with a local business owner. For the construction of the high school, the state and the school negotiated a special student wage rate as students weren’t working to the standards of prevailing wage.

Jemini Drake, who graduated from Hodgson’s electrical trades program, was one of the many students that helped build the new school. She told the crowd on Monday that she was most proud of installing the temporary lights on the site.

“When I look around this building today, I see more than just walls, classrooms, and shops. I see the start of a new legacy for Hodgson, and I’m proud that I got to be a small part of building it,” she said. “My time at Hodson also taught me something important about myself. As a young woman entering construction, I learned that I absolutely have a place here.”