After student backlash, Sussex County Tech to keep E-Commerce program for two more years
SPARTA — Sussex County Technical School administrators have changed their minds and rather than cut the E-Commerce curriculum at the end of this school year, will phase it out in the next two years.
Students protested the sudden program cut by signing and sharing an online petition to save it. The student behind the petition credited the 1,300 who signed it as of Tuesday with extending the program.
"Due to the outpouring (of) support from everyone the school has allowed our program to be phased out until we graduate," said E-Commerce student Abby Bonnema. "This couldn’t have been possible without the countless comments and positive words said on this petition."
The sophomore and junior E-Commerce students will be able to finish out the program, according to Sussex Tech student Victoria Brandt. She said freshman students in the program were informed they must pick a different "shop" to join for the rest of their time in high school.
Sussex Tech Superintendent and Principal Gus Modla confirmed Tuesday that the program will remain for two years. The school created its master schedule for the 2022-23 school year last week and was "able to create a schedule that will allow the current sophomores and juniors to stay in the E-Commerce program."
The petition contained numerous messages from students, parents and alumni attesting to the importance of the program and its instructor, William Anderson. Over the weekend, Anderson left a comment praising his students "for taking a stance and fighting for what they believe in."
"I am humbled and moved by the level of sincerity that this petition has showcased," he said. "I can't begin to tell you how touched I am to see the level of impact that I have had on your children."
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Sussex Tech administrators announced in a letter to parents last Monday that the school would shut down the E-Commerce program because of low enrollment and "lack of student interest."
Students responded by creating the petition and making plans to attend the school Board of Education meeting on June 23, though Bonnema said that will not happen now that the program will remain for two more years. Some were also trying to organize a walkout in protest last Friday that ultimately did not take place, Brandt said.
The E-Commerce shop is part of the Career and Technical Education curriculum at Sussex Tech. Students apply to one of approximately 20 programs while in eighth grade at their sending districts and study the shop throughout their four years of high school.
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Sussex Tech NJ: E-Commerce program to continue for students
