"It’s like, automatic to him," said mother Denise Buchak about her son’s talent. "Even [his father] Jon doesn’t know half this stuff."
But Jeffrey, who first started work on the truck at age 12, is a bit more modest.
He said that half of his automotive skills are self-taught and the rest he’s learned through automotive classes at Paramus Vo-Tech School.
Except that come this fall, Jeffrey might be the last of Cresskill High School students to participate in the shared-time vocational program with Paramus Vo-Tech.
The sixth grade level expansion at the school and the subsequent change in block scheduling made it nearly impossible for shared-time students to schedule their classes. As a result, five of the six shared-time students chose to stay at Cresskill High School and quit Paramus Vo-Tech altogether.
While school authorities maintain that they offered the students "viable alternatives," students like Jeffrey still feel slighted.
The shared-time program with Paramus Vo-Tech allows students to pursue hands-on training in subjects not offered at the public high school. Courses in areas like cosmetology, automotive repair and horticulture ready the students for employment upon graduation.
It has been a part of the high school curriculum for at least 40 years, said father and 1975 Cresskill graduate, Jon Buchak.
Jeffrey’s father is an example of a successful shared-time graduate. Buchak, who studied to be an electrician at Paramus Vo-Tech close to 40 years ago, said that he employs between four and six full-time electricians at his company.
To highlight the achievements of his company and employees, he pointed to copies of his employees’ wages. One electrician with 18 years of experience earned more than $78,000 last year.
"I was ready for employment when I graduated," said Buchak. "It gave me a great jump start."
The quality of education is so strong that Buchak visits Paramus Vo-Tech first to recruit graduates for work with his electrical company.
"People don’t give these kids as much credit," said Buchak. "It’s the same way it was 35 years ago."
According to Buchak, there was always a negative stigma that persisted with shared-timers. "Academic outcasts," he said, was the stereotype.
He faulted school officials at a school board meeting July 21 for devising a new scheduling system without considering shared-time students. "Not only did [the school board] not know it was disbanded, they didn’t know [the program] existed," said Buchak, before adding that the students learned of the situation through word of mouth.
"It’s not like we had 25 students going to Vo-Tech," said former Cresskill Schools Superintendent Charles Khoury in response. "We can’t remake the schedule for 300 other kids."
Khoury said that Cresskill guidance counselors did present the students with "viable alternatives."
The alternatives included attending either Paramus Vo-Tech or Cresskill High School all day. Cresskill High School would issue the diploma in both cases, according to Khoury.
Jeffrey chose to continue with the shared-time program, which meant cobbling together a schedule of different class sections for the same subject throughout the week. The 15-year-old would also take gym class at Paramus instead of in Cresskill.
New Cresskill Schools Superintendent Loretta Bellina said that while the schedule is not desirable, the situation is not atypical. "Sometimes we have to make a particular modification," she said. "After all, we’re here to help the students."
The shared-time program is not cancelled, further added several school officials. Although Bellina admitted that a discussion about the future of the program would be necessary, she did say that the program offering "wouldn’t have to have a formal beginning or end."
But Buchak has his doubts.
"You know, I’m glad for my son that they found a way," he said. "But unfortunately, I think Jeff is going to be like the last of the Mohicans here."
E-mail: gonzalezso@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6711
