NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — McCann Technical School heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration teacher Robert North has been selected as the June Teacher of the Month. 

 

The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here.

 

Although new to the field, North has already made a significant impact on his students, which became evident with the overwhelming nominations he received for the series.

 

Sophomore Mason Stred emailed his peers, encouraging them to nominate North, leading to a dozen students submitting nominations.

 

North has 40 years of experience in the HVAC field, beginning with his work for local companies and then founding his own business, HVAC Technologies Incorporated, in 1999, which he ran until 2023. 

 

During his career, he observed a shortage of skilled workers in the HVAC field and saw teaching as an opportunity to help address the workforce shortage and share his extensive industry knowledge with young students. 

 

He received his initial training at the New England Fuel Institute and continued learning through various day schools and additional courses throughout his career. 

 

It had been highlighted by several that, besides McCann’s program, there is no other HVAC education in the county.

 

"We’re the only school in Berkshire County with the HVAC shop. So, we know a lot more than people that would be going in when they're older," freshman Gavin Mcgrath said. "We do like an equal amount, like in the book and out in the shop." 

 

Professionals in the field are aging out. It's reached a point where service companies advertise their open positions on their vans, which is something that never happened in the past, North said.

 

"So, this [program] is really going to help the industry a lot, which was kind of my motive to start teaching and share some of my knowledge," North said. 

 

"My motive was to help get more HVAC techs out in the field working and just get the industry turned around where we had more available help." 

 

The HVAC program at McCann Technical School is a four-year vocational program that trains students in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. 

 

"[North] was really blazing new trails here, because the HVAC program here is a brand new program for us. So, the culmination of [him] wanting to learn to be an educator, along with as many years of experience, I think it was fairly seamless in the way that our students saw it," said Computer Assisted Design Instructor Gregory King.

 

The program aims to prepare students for careers in HVAC by providing comprehensive training and real-world experience. Training includes safety practices, tool usage, electrical wiring, soldering, brazing, as well as furnace and boiler installation and service.

 

"When they're out working and they run into issues, hopefully they can look back and realize that we learned it in here, and we covered it in here and saved them a lot of headache," North said.

 

"Without the training, you have to fight through every service call. So, I think the impacts just to give them good training in here and give them confidence when they get out in the field." 

 

Starting in the fourth quarter of their junior year, students engage in co-op placements, working every other week in the HVAC field with local companies to gain practical, real-world experience.

 

"He's very understanding of us, and it's a great trade to be taught at this young age. I can't thank him enough for because it's it gives us a really good head start on our trade for the future," freshman Richard Rando said. 

 

Even before entering the co-op portion of the program, North strives to give his students a glimpse into the industry by creating scenarios they may encounter and sharing stories from his time in the career.

 

"He's relatable. If you don't understand something, he'll tell you a story about how he did it during his 40 years work," freshman Anthony Trzcinski said. 

 

"He lets us learn from our mistakes, but also helps us when we need it. And his multiple years of experience in the shop is great."

 

"Instead of just making us like read stuff out of a book and having to go figure it out ourselves, he shows us a lot of videos, and if we have trouble understanding he'll try and explain it to us," freshman Jakob Trudeau said. 

 

In his career, North said he had trained several individuals and is still learning to manage and adapt his training style to meet the needs of 16 students, keeping them all engaged. 

 

"He really cares for all his students. He has a different type of teaching style. He's kind of laid back, but I feel like it really drives all of us and helps all of us to learn better, and whenever we have any questions, he's always there to answer it for us," Stred said. 

 

King emphasized the differences between teaching in industry and education, highlighting the need for educators to adapt their perspectives to that of their students.

 

"Fortunately, with [North] it was really easy. He already has that teacher mindset. So, you could tell he loved teaching his folks when he was running his own business and t was a seamless transaction," he said. 

 

North attributes the support he has received from McCann staff who have helped him in the transition to this new career.

 

"I think it's noteworthy to mention the level of commitment that it takes to change careers like this, to go from working in industry and then to learn a whole new trade in teaching, it takes a very high level of commitment," Principal Justin Kratz said. 

 

All the vocational students at McCann have made that transition and it is important to showcase the amount of work it requires including  additional coursework, learn teaching strategies, classroom management and passing the teacher licensure tests, he said. 

 

"So, when a person comes from industry to a vocational teaching position in any shop, but Bob certainly exemplifies this, it's a level of commitment that's really, really noteworthy to say, ‘Hey, I'm going to shift gears and I'm going to help the next generation out’ and he's done a phenomenal job with that," Kratz said. 

 

The ability to adapt goes beyond his career change; he is also able to adjust his teaching style to meet the needs of students with different abilities. 

 

"He knows how to accommodate certain mental disorders not many teachers do, and he pays attention to how the class acts, and accommodates teaching to how the class acts," freshman Connor Decarolis said. 

 

"[He is] very patient [and] also is teaches us a lot of stuff in a short period of time and makes it sensible and digestible. I am easily able to learn how an AC system works, and I know what an a coil is."