Gardner Public Schools Offering Multiple Pathways to Success
A student at Gardner High School might be interested in going to college or might be interested in a trade. Either option is available. With arrangements made with Mount Wachusett Community College, students take college courses while still in high school. A number of students are well on their way to graduating with not only a high school diploma, but also an Associates Degree. Those credits can be used to shave off a couple years from a 4 year degree. And for those interested in a high paying trade, the arrangement with Monty Tech comes in to play. Best of all, cost to students is FREE. Gardner Magazine has a “Deep Dive” discussing this. Listen on any device. CLICK PLAY.
This information is from the School Committee meeting packet for December 8th, CLICK HERE.
The GHS Early College Academy continues to thrive. 89 students are enrolled in the program.
Although most of the students in the program take classes on the MWCC campus, many of them return
to GHS in the afternoons to take additional high school classes. This year there are 16
juniors who take two college classes at the high school, which are taught by MWCC professors. Those
students are also enrolled in three afternoon high school classes. Five current seniors are on track to graduate from the Academy with full associate’s degrees. All these classes continue to be free of charge for students. Recruiting efforts for the 2026-2027 school year will be starting in January.
The Pathways and Gateway to College Programs are undergoing a bit of a change with the creation of
some new MOUs with other districts. Pathways currently has 41 students enrolled who will be
receiving GPS diplomas and all those students are on track to earn a full associate’s degree by their
graduation. Gateway to College currently has 37 students enrolled in the program and those students will be earning a Gardner Academy diploma. Those students are enrolled in college classes that are used towards earning their diplomas while covering all GPS graduation requirements.
MVP Academy: The MVP Academy, the partnership program with Monty Tech, currently has 15 students enrolled. There are 5 seniors (two in carpentry and three in electrical) and 10 juniors (five in carpentry and five in electrical) in the program. GHS is excited to be adding plumbing to the trades offered through this program for next year. Although GHS is waiting for official notification, all indications from DESE are that the application will be approved and then Gardner High School will be adding 10 additional students in this new trade (five juniors and five seniors) for the 2026-2027 school year. Recruitment for next year will be beginning in January.