The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

trict, community, parents and educators
are quite proud to be a part of the
six Construction Academies, which
are advancing workforce initiatives
and opportunities in construction.
Expansion of the Youth Construction
Academy to more sites with additional
course offerings is being planned
for 2008-09 in Fairbanks.
Gary Munyon is the Career and
Tech Education (CTE) Coordinator
for the Fairbanks North Star Borough
School District.
The Mat-Su Construction
Academy
has very innovative and effective construction-related
training and delivery
programs throughout the high schools
in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough
School District. These programs range
from the specialized “Project Lead The
Way” curriculum at the Career and
Technical High School (see winter
2008 issue) to the “SkillsUSA” interschool
building competitions held at
Wasilla High School and the advanced
welding program and industry partnering
at Colony High.
In a further demonstration of the
Mat-Su’s commitment to excellence,
students with construction trades
teachers Ken Rezendes, Alan Johnson
and many construction trades volunteers
have recently completed their
Weld Air employee Ben Parker gives a congratulatory handshake to Wasilla High School senior
Jake Blessent, who earned his Job Ready welding certificate through Project 232 Flux Core.
Mat-Su student designed and built home .
18th home, which was student designed
and built. A new home built by
students each year for nearly 20 years
is a real commitment.
Ray DePriest, director of the Career
and Technical Education Department
in the Valley says, “The Construction
Academy is helping provide students
with the much needed exposure to basic
construction skills.”
Seven schools districtwide have
construction tools for training and
portable training modules that can be
used year after year.
The adult component of the academy
includes basic construction in
carpentry, electrical plumbing, drywall
and surface finishes. The construction
academy in Mat- Su is well
underway with contractors looking
forward to new recruits for the summer
building season.
Partners include AGC of Alaska,
the Mat-Su Home Builders Association,
the Mat-Su Borough School District,
Alaska Works Partnership, Alaska
Department of Labor and Workforce
Development and Weld Air Alaska.
With partial funding
provided by the
Anchorage Construction
Academy, the Anchorage School
District has increased the number
of students enrolled in construction
and construction related classes significantly.
For this school year there
have been 861 students enrolled in
construction classes and 1,165 students
enrolled in construction related
classes. Read King Career Center article,
“The journeymen of tomorrow:
KCC hiring event introduces students,
employers” on Pg. 37.
Gary Gaard and Career Guide Gary Abernathy
speaks with motivated and prepared students
prior to the opening of the very successful
King Career Center Seniors/Employers Day.
Middle School students
build sheds
BY GARY MARTIN
Gruening Middle School’s (Eagle
River) Colts Construction Club began
its first season building storage sheds
as part of a new after-school program
designed to get students interested in
the field of construction. Eight girls and
10 boys met daily after school for four
weeks learning the process of building
a 4’ x 8’ storage shed complete with
a shingled roof, framed window and
a door. Students were organized in
groups of four or five and each group
built a shed. All four storage sheds were
sold within a week of completion to local
people in the community of Eagle
River. Students took great pride in each
of their sheds. Only a few students had
any kind of construction experience.
By the end of the program all students
knew the process of a building a simple
structure and could apply those skills to
larger construction projects. It also gave
students valuable insight into the various
fields of construction.