Trade School

Three former students of the Watterson School of Business and Technology say they enrolled in the Fern Rock school in hopes of learning a trade and finding an escape from poverty. Instead, their attorneys contend, the students got a con job and a lot of broken promises. Alleging the school is nothing more than a scam to steal tax-funded federal school grants and loans, the lawyers in federal court yesterday accused Career-Com Corp., the school's parent company, of racketeering and fraud.

The idea of opening a free trade school for "poor and deserving young men" in Delaware County was born in 1888. The man behind the idea was Bucks County native Isaiah Vansant Williamson, the son of Quakers who wanted other young men to have the opportunity to acquire the type of trade skills that he learned in his youth - skills that had enabled him to build a successful business career. Over the years, The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades in Middletown has turned out more than 2,500 tradesmen, many of whom went on to become self-made millionaires.

Two former executives of the Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School have been arrested on charges of embezzling $185,929 from the institution over the last four years, authorities said yesterday. Police allege that the couple used the money for a variety of personal purchases and to boost their income. Hersey Gray and his wife, Myrtis Gray, of the 500 block of Chestnut Street in Coatesville, are accused of stealing public funds from the school between 1987 and 1991.

Pennsylvania has decided that the much-criticized PTC Career Institute at 40 N. 2nd St. in Center City should be closed. The state Education Department's Board of Private Licensed Schools issued an order last week revoking the licenses held by the school's parent, Philadelphia Training Center Corp. in West Conshohocken. The order prohibits the school from enrolling more students and orders it to return pre-paid tuition. Does that mean the school is closed? That it won't try to sign up new students?

A federal judge has ordered the owners of PTC Career Institute, the defunct trade school in Philadelphia, to pay $131,000 to former employees of the Philadelphia school and schools in five other cities. The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division sued PTC, at 40 N. 2nd St., in February. The division claimed that the school's owners, Richard and Rimona Friedberg of Villanova, their daughter, Miryam Friedberg Mishkin, and her husband, William Mishkin, had violated federal minimum-wage and overtime laws.

The parents of a freshman who was fatally shocked last year at a Delaware County trade school sued the school this week. Laurie and Michael Savage Sr. of Glenolden said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that their son, Michael Jr., 18, had not been properly trained or supervised and had not had the proper equipment when he was sent to work on an energized commercial light fixture at the power plant on the campus of the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades...

Students from Harrison Career Institute, a private trade school based in Voorhees that appears to be the subject of a federal criminal probe, say the school failed to deliver promised training, externships and jobs in their areas of study. "They told me I'd get an externship, but once I enrolled, they said there were no externships available in dialysis," said Kelly Covington, 39, of Northeast Philadelphia, a former Harrison student. "I felt like I was conned. . . . Once they got you in there, they just totally ignored you. " According to the U.S. Department of Education, Covington is not alone.

Daylight had barely touched the campus when the young men started to line up in front of the main building. "Prepare for inspection," yelled senior class president P.J. Hajduk once the 240 students, dressed in blazers and ties, not military uniforms, formed three rows. On time, shoes shined, faces cleanshaven - lapses in any of those areas could mean several hours of work on the grounds Saturday. But this morning, all seemed in order. Roll was taken, the flag was raised and, at 6:45 a.m., another day had begun at the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades - the last all-male, free post-secondary private trade school in the country.

Some people might pour themselves a stiff drink after a final exam, but Jeff Anastasi had to mix one to pass his. First, he filled a glass with ice. Then, he carefully poured 1 1/2 ounces of vodka and a half-ounce of Kahlua into the glass. After a slight stirring, the drink was ready. Perfect, said his instructor. Anastasi, 20, breathed a sigh of relief. Final exams were officially over, and with the creation of the Black Russian, he was ready to graduate. For Anastasi, of Williamstown, the certificate from the International Bartending School in Cherry Hill was as precious as any degree.

Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades, which aspires to teach its students a code of values as well as an occupation, makes retired Air Force Col. Paul A. Reid feel right at home. "This is not a military school," said Reid, 50, who took over the reins of the 107-year-old institution in Delaware County on Aug. 1, "but there is a dress code and a strong element of discipline. Our job is to help mold young men. " At Williamson - an all-male, free, post-secondary private trade school - "we're not ashamed that we stand for values," said Reid, who will be formally installed as president Friday.

The leader of a community organization and an urban-planning firm have reached out to help Leroy Sterling complete his vision for a masonry business and trade school, which he planned for American Street in Kensington. It's a project that Sterling claims in a lawsuit to have scuttled after the city seized the vacant land he had bought across the street from the Crane Arts Building, a former plumbing factory that had been converted to studios and exhibit space. His story was in Monday's Daily News . The suit, now in federal court, names as defendants the city of Philadelphia, the Redevelopment Authority (RDA)

The parents of a freshman who was fatally shocked last year at a Delaware County trade school sued the school this week. Laurie and Michael Savage Sr. of Glenolden said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that their son, Michael Jr., 18, had not been properly trained or supervised and had not had the proper equipment when he was sent to work on an energized commercial light fixture at the power plant on the campus of the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades...

A LAWYER FRIEND who follows politics recently asked me who Tom Corbett's running mate is in the upcoming race for governor. I had to think. Well, if you don't know, says the lawyer, how do any of us? So here goes. It's Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley, the Republican-endorsed candidate for lieutenant governor who won a nine-way spring primary with 26 percent of the vote. (Yes, a nine-way primary. And there were three Democrats. So 12 people ran for an office that almost nobody cares about.

In early September 2008, Leroy Lewis paced the living room of his family's rowhouse in Juniata Park, restless. Two months had crept by since he had been shot, the second time in less than a year. The recovering 19-year-old was eager for a future, but unsure how to move beyond his past. Sitting home alone while his mother worked and his younger siblings were at day care or away for the summer, Lewis could peer out from behind the curtains and almost see the corner where he had sold drugs on and off since he was 16, hanging with his friends, and stuffing his pocket with $600 a day in wadded-up bills.

Students at a handful of district schools can obtain a license or certification in a field or trade after completing 1,080 hours of instruction and an end-of-program assessment. The schools are: _ Barbering: Dobbins _ Cosmetology: Edison, Dobbins _ Construction (plumbing, welding, carpentry, architectural drafting, electrical installation): Bok, Edison, Fitzsimons, Frankford, Mastbaum, Olney, Overbrook, Randolph, Rhodes, Swenson _ Automotive technology: Edison, Mastbaum, King, Randolph, Swenson, West Philly _ Child-care management: Edison, Rhodes _ Information technology (computer-system technology, Web and multimedia design, computer networking and computer-systems administration)

THE TWO BEST parts of the election: 1. We can finally say good-bye to the idiotic chatter of Sarah Palin as she crawls back into the woodwork, only to be occasionally seen when she comes out to give depositions in her ethics-violation cases. 2. We don't have to look at that ugly bald head of Joe the Plumber anymore. Perhaps now that he won't be attending those McCain rallies, he can find the time to return to trade school and actually learn become a real plumber! Marc Golde, Bala Cynwyd

Drugs got Lawrence Shorts kicked out of high school. For Danny Garcia, the glitz of a promising career as a boxer caused him to drop out. Anya Patterson had a baby. Ashton Butts had to support himself. Like many around the region will do this week, these students yesterday donned caps and gowns and strode to a platform to accept diplomas. But for the 23 graduates of three Accelerated Learning Academies of Philadelphia, programs that give dropouts and at-risk students a different way of earning a diploma, graduation meant a little more.

That he has followed in the footsteps of generations of philanthropists, including John Wanamaker, by recognizing the unique educational and societal mission of a 120-year-old Media trade school was a notion Henry M. Rowan yesterday eschewed as a "bit too philosophical" for his taste. Rowan, 85, the plainspoken industrialist who may be best known for donating $100 million to what was then Glassboro State College in 1992, this week bestowed an additional $25 million of his fortune to the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades.

In jubilation yesterday, they celebrated with glasses of sparkling cider at the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades. No wonder. Its president had just announced that the tiny private trade school outside Media - enrollment 250 - would receive a whopping $45 million donation from two of the region's most generous philanthropic couples. Sparkling cider? Williamson has a strict no-drinking policy, enforced with random Breathalyzer tests - part of a policy to build character while building skills in carpentry, power-plant operation, turf maintenance, and machining.

WE ARE WRITING this letter to address the current situation of the school district and the City of Philadelphia. The crime and murder rate is skyrocketing at record levels. Everyone is asking what is the cause and what is the solution. It's not about putting more cops on the street or building more prisons. It's about giving people hope and a sense of pride in themselves and the ability to care and provide for their families. Many Philadelphians only have a high school diploma and cannot afford to go to college or a trade school.