DANVERS — With Wednesday’s cutting of the ribbon at North Shore Essex Agricultural & Technical High School’s brand-new Larkin Center, a project that has been in the works for more than five years has finally come to fruition.
The building was in its imagination stages prior to 2019 — when plans were drawn up for the site of the 1950 Larkin Cottage — thanks to the foresight and backing of school supporter Robert Wood of Danvers.
The old lime-green Larkin was demolished in early 2020, and work begun on the new Larkin during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, with the building virtually complete, the elegant new Larkin Center opened to the public with speeches, refreshments, tours and a ribbon-cutting.
Akram Mchiti, a senior in Essex Tech’s information technology services program and state vice president of SkillsUSA, introduced state Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler to give the keynote address.
Tutwiler recalled the dedication of Catherine Marie Larkin, for whom the building is named, “whose dedication to service will serve as a model and inspiration for now and in perpetuity.”
Larkin, a Salem woman, who studied home economics at Essex Agricultural High School, enlisted the U.S. Army Nurse Corps at the start of WWII. In March 1945, 1st Lt. Larkin was on a plane to Calcutta, India, with 14 other female nurses, to establish a base hospital when her plane went down in bad weather killing all aboard.
“So what’s the story here?” Tutwiler asked, “Simply put, students and adults who helped rebuild the Larkin learned how to build a house.
“They learned carpentry, they learned HVAC maintenance, they learned construction path labor and they learned horticulture and landscaping — and they learned these vital skills right here on site, with their own hands, and through the expertise of real-world professionals who are experts in their chosen fields.
“I spent a lot of time in schools and in communities across the commonwealth,” he said, “and I’ve got to tell you, consistently, we hear from students and from families that they want relevance in their education.
“They want to see the connection between what they’re learning during the day and a career path they might be interested in.”
Tutwiler went on to say that through programs such as the career tech Initiatives or skills capital grants officials are making sure the training lies with the real needs of the economy.
He spoke of “the buzz happening here” because of the pathways and because of the “partnerships with local unions and local work force training partners, students and adults are gaining hands-on experience, industry-recognized credentials, and a clear roadmap to good jobs.”
Superintendent-Director Heidi Riccio invited the audience to take a moment to reflect on how special the day was “for our school, our students, and our entire community.
“The Larkin represents more than just a beautiful building,” she said, “it is a tribute to our past, a celebration of collaboration, and a promise for our future”