Machine shop teacher Mr. Verga retires after successful career

Eleven years ago, Mr. Tony Verga took the job of the machine shop teacher at Gloucester High School, at the request of then-principal Dr. Sullivan.

“I wasn’t planning to stay long, but over time I realized it wasn’t a bad gig,” said Verga.

Running his own machine shop business parallel to teaching the same subject at the high school, Verga has watched as changes in technology shifted the way he educated students in his program. While he is going to miss interacting with the students at GHS, Verga is optimistic about the future of the machine shop and the other vocational programs.

“Mr. Verga has been an amazing teacher and role model for me,” said recent GHS graduate Ben St. Cyr. “He is an excellent machinist, and as he teaches he is very patient and resilient with his students. He is going to be missed a lot, but he deserves to retire.”

Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker recently awarded the vocational services a 498 thousand dollar grant to expand and improve the programs. GHS plans to find a replacement teacher to continue the machine shop program after his departure.

“There are good things to come down the road,” said Verga. “The next teacher will have a bunch of state of the art technology to use.”

After moving on to the next chapter in his life, Verga plans to continue running his business, spend more time with his grandchildren, and vacation with his wife. In October, he and his wife will travel to the Azores.