A teacher shows off a 3D printer creation at the Worcester Tech School’s STATT Camp.

By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(July 23, 2026) School system personnel and community leaders were invited this week to take part in a walk-through of Worcester Tech’s skilled trade summer camp, where students have two weeks to explore alternative careers in fields such as biomedical engineering, agriculture, and culinary arts.

On Monday, July 20, Worcester County Public Schools Superintendent Annette Wallace, board of education members, county commissioners, and other community figures toured Worcester Technical High School’s S.T.A.T.T. (Skilled Trades, Agriculture, Tourism, and Technology) Camp.

Program leaders took attendees from classroom to classroom, where they watched teachers instruct students in how to create a charcuterie box in culinary arts, the best techniques for a manicure in cosmetology, and methods for 3D printing.

During S.T.A.T.T., students choose two pathways, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, to prioritize throughout the two weeks. These options include: robotics and drones, culinary and pastry arts, digital art, carpentry, fire science, agricultural science, cosmetology, plumbing, biomedical engineering, 3D printing, music and video production, and laser cutting.

Two terms of S.T.A.T.T. Camp were available this summer. One was held from July 6 to July 16, and another from July 20 to 30.

Worcester Tech Principal Tony Bevilacqua said that about three-quarters of the camp’s students signed up for both of the program’s sessions. Monday’s tour coincided with the first day of the program’s second segment.

The camp is open to rising 8th through 12th grade students in Worcester County. Of the 119 enrolled, seven students are homeschooled or attend a private school, and 51, or 42%, are minorities. Of the 119 kids, 10% are Hispanic, 6% are multi-race, and 25% are African American.

In addition, 19% of the participating students fall into the special education subgroup, while 38% are economically disadvantaged.

Superintendent of Schools Annette Wallace watches one of the programs at work.

This week’s tour allowed community members to witness the value the school system provides by offering instruction in nontraditional career tracks.

In the cosmetology lab, guests watched students learn how to conduct manicures.

The walkthrough then headed to the restaurant-grade kitchen, where Chef Phil Cropper was teaching the young learners knife skills. Hand in hand with that lesson was an activity in which the students prepared miniature charcuterie boxes.

Cropper said that as part of that task, the juvenile chefs were to make ranch dressing from scratch, cut up carrot and celery sticks, and create pepperoni roses to enhance the cheese board’s presentation.

The tour also stopped by the tech school’s outdoor garden where students in the agricultural science program were working. Making a special appearance were the facility’s two goats, who are used as therapy animals for the kids and faculty in the building.

Kids in the laser cutting pathway were creating artwork with design software and 3D laser cutting technology, the biomedical engineering class was delving into the subject’s principles and concepts, and digital artists were learning how to use the program’s apps.

S.T.A.T.T. Camp is free of charge to all eligible families. The Rural Maryland Council and the Worcester County Government provided the funding.