A plea to reconsider decision to drop programs at tech school

Editor's note: This column was adapted from an open letter to leaders at Sussex County Technical School.

Dear Sussex County Tech Superintendent Gus Modla and administrative team,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing with a heavy heart regarding the recent decision to close down three of our school shops: theatre arts, graphic communications and architecture technologies.

As a freshman involved in the architecture program, this news has hit me particularly hard. When I first walked into the architecture shop two years ago at Tech Trek, I didn’t just see computers and tools — I saw dreams of mine that I never knew existed, visions turning into creations, and futures being built, quite literally, from the ground up.

The architecture shop was not just a room to me; but instead a space where I had discovered my passion, where I learned values such as precision, creativity, teamwork. It was a promise of opportunities, a gateway to a world of possibilities far beyond those four walls. I dreamed of what my future would look like, after I had finally discovered what I loved to do.

To hear that this shop, this classroom of learning and creativity, will no longer be accessible to myself, my friends, and generations to come, is like a profound loss. It might sound silly, but it’s more than just the computers and the room itself, it’s the mentorship, the friendships, the memories, and the sense of belonging that we found within those four walls.

The architecture shop wasn’t just about models and measurements; it was about forming our dreams and teaching us to see the world through the eyes of architects, especially with the opportunity presented at an earlier stage of life, which would let us enter college with prior experience, to learn from an actual architect.

I know decisions like these are difficult, and often they must be made with considerations beyond our immediate understanding. Yet, I cannot help but feel the ache of a dream deferred, the loss of a promise unfulfilled.

I implore you to reconsider this decision, not just for myself and my peers, but for the students in the other two shops, who I am sure are feeling the same loss, who found the same feelings of inspiration and purpose within these workshops. These shops were more than just rooms; they were catalysts for creativity, shaping not only our skills, but also our dreams and futures.

Please, let us not close the doors on our dreams. Let us continue to build, create, and learn together, for the promise of our futures and the legacy of our school.

Thank you for taking the time to read my heartfelt plea.

Jessica Nicole Majtczak is a freshman in the architecture program at Sussex County Technical School.