Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 5-1-24

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18 I SUMMER CAMPS I May 1, 2024 MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE JULY 8TH - 11TH AGES 3 - 10 GET READY FOR SOME TRAVELING FUN! LEARNING NEW DANCES, CREATING FESTIVE CRAFTS, AND MAKING NEW FRIENDS! REGISTER TODAY! www.inertiadance.com @MIDRIVERS_NEWS MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE.COM Camp Mathnasium 7123 Mexico Road • St. Peters (636) 812-MATH (6284) • mathnasium.com/stpetersnorth Let your children enjoy fun, educational STEAM activities and catch up, keep up or get ahead with their math skills. Camp Mathnasium sessions, from June 9 to August 9, are three hours, with one hour for math skills and the rest for STEAM activities and strategy games. The math hour will feature our world-renowned custom approach where we work from each student’s custom learning plans and teach in a way that makes sense! Choose from dozens of activities including maze coding, game theory and slime. Early enrollees save $100. Grades 2 - 8 • June 9 - August 9 • 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Now Enrolling! Mathnasium of St. Peters North (636) 812-MATH (6284) mathnasium.com/stpetersnorth Make it a Mathnasium Summer Inertia School of Dance 1058 Wies Industrial Drive • Lake Saint Louis (636) 579-7331 • inertiadance.com This summer, Inertia School of Dance is traveling “Around The World” for a dance camp your child won’t forget. Campers will spend four days traveling “Around The World” learning fun dances, building festive crafts they can take home daily, playing interactive games and making new friends. There’s so much to see and do. We can’t wait to explore the globe with some fun dance grooves! Camp is July 8-11 for kids ages 3 to 10 years. No dance experience necessary. To learn more and register, visit www.inertiadance.com. Let’s explore around the world! STAGES St. Louis 1023 Chesterfield Parkway East • Chesterfield (636) 449-5775 • StagesStLouis.org STAGES Performing Arts Academy offers an exciting variety of musical theatre camps, workshops and productions for students of all ages and abilities. Act, dance and sing all summer long while learning new skills and techniques. Classes include Musical Minis, Improv, Act It Out, Musical Theatre Exploration, Ace Your Audition and more! And don’t miss out on the Broadway Performance Workshops of Disney’s “Frozen Kids,” “13: The Musical Jr.,” “Madagascar Jr.” and the new musical, “Between The Lines.” It’s all at STAGES Performing Arts Academy this summer. Register today at www.stagesstlouis.org/summer or call 636- 449-5775. View Summer Camp Directories online at midriversnewsmagazine.com
FACEBOOK.COM/MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE MIDRIVERSNEWSMAGAZINE.COM Trades take center stage at Build My Future STL May 1, 2024 MID RIVERS NEWSMAGAZINE I 19 By DEANNE LEBLANC The third annual Build My Future STL took place at the St. Charles Family Arena on April 24-25. The event featured handson exhibits and virtual reality simulations focusing on the building, trades and construction industries. Over 2,000 students from 70 high schools across 14 counties were expected to be in attendance. The event is co-chaired by representatives from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri and the Francis Howell School District, who aim to address labor shortages in the industry. The concept for Build My Future came about in 2014 by industry professionals in Springfield, Missouri, to remedy the “dwindling pipeline of workers” and lack of interest in the skilled trades. Today, Build My Future is the largest event of its kind in the country, and takes place annually in 12 states. During Build My Future STL, students get the opportunity to explore trade jobs and meet local construction professionals while having unique hands-on experiences. In addition, there are virtual reality simulations, educational displays, equipment operations and learning labs in the areas of new construction, plumbing, masonry, welding, flooring, landscaping, roofing, siding, heavy equipment machinery operation, excavating and more. Hands-on activities are a big part of the event. (Photos courtesy of Jeanie Smith) Francis Howell College and Career Specialist Katie Vargas said the top benefit for students participating in the event is realworld, experiential learning across the participating industries. “Classroom learning is important, for sure, but students learn tremendously by doing,” Vargas said. “Trying on a variety of jobs in the trades at Build My Future allows students to affirm their strengths and interests in multiple skill areas, which in turn helps them better plan for their post-secondary future.” Companies benefit as well, getting the chance to engage with the workforce of the next generation. “As an educator, I feel like this generation of students doesn’t get enough credit for their innovation, creativity and selfawareness; this event affirms that the future is bright,” Vargas said. Matt Schindler, career shadowing facilitator at Rockwood School District, knows that not every student wants to go to college. “With student loan debt being what it is, we are starting to see a shift in mindset from many that college isn’t a must, especially if you have to borrow money to attend,” Schindler said. “This event exposes students to zero-debt career options in a way that schools are not able to do. From the heavy machinery to the non-stop hands-on activities, Build My Future is an invaluable resource for the Rockwood District to expose the students in our schools to a wide variety of options that don’t require college or college loans.” In 2023, 47 states passed 115 laws about career and technical education, which increased financing for job training programs and opportunities for work-based learning beyond conventional high school and college learning models. The goal of this initiative is to reverse a long-term trend away from vocational education that has resulted in a scarcity of competent laborers. The amount of shop courses offered in American high schools has decreased, and between 1982 and 2013, shop credits dropped by more than 26%. In addition, many school districts completely removed industrial tech workshops, like welding and metal shops, from the curriculum. There has been a stigma against trade jobs that has been hard to shake after decades of society prioritizing the four-year degree. “I think the lack of workers in trades was due to the mindset that college is a must,” Schindler said. “There was a point where ‘for-profit’ schools were popping up all over the place and selling false hope to students who were probably questioning whether college was the right path.” Jason Hughes, president of T.R. Hughes Homes in St. Charles and the current president of the St. Louis Home Builders Association, agreed that college is not for everyone, and feels more investments should be made into industrial tech classes within schools. “In my opinion, more investments should be made in industrial tech classes in schools. College isn’t for everyone,” Hughes said. “You can make a very good wage in the trades.” The home building industry has seen wages for residential building workers rise significantly over the last several years. According to Build My Future, average hourly earnings for residential building Local students at the 2024 Build My Future STL. workers were $30.71 per hour in November 2023, increasing 4% from $29.52 per hour a year ago. This was over 14% higher than the manufacturing’s average hourly earnings of $26.91 per hour and 8.9% higher than transportation and warehousing earnings of $28.19 per hour. Boosting the skilled trade workforce will be especially prioritized as more opportunities become available due to federal legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a U.S. federal statute enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021, and the CHIPS and Science Act, ratified in 2022. Hughes believes the reason for the lack of interest in the skilled trades of late is a combination of two factors coming together at once. “For a long time, parents and schools have been pushing students to get a four-year degree, but the trades also have an aging workforce,” Hughes said. “We are making great headway with the local high schools/ tech schools, to get the word out.” Vargas believes the shortage is caused by both the mass exodus of Baby Boomers from the workforce and a misleading message given to families for years that a four-year college is the only acceptable, successful path after high school graduation. “The remedy is to continue righting this message through the de-stigmatization of non-four-year college training opportunities,” Vargas said. Vargas and Schindler both agreed that through events like Build My Future STL, students and parents can see many successful career pathways previously hidden by mainstream pressures. “Many regional high school tech schools are out of real estate and seats. Money is tighter in public education now more than (Photos courtesy of Jeanie Smith) ever, so all the more reason to forge strong school-industry partnerships to solve these pain points,” Vargas said. The pendulum is starting to swing the other way, Schindler said. Discussing the event with students after the fact shows the message about other options is sinking in. “As far as being able to tell if Build My Future STL is making a difference, I think it’s unquestionably yes,” Schindler said. “Processing the experience with students who attend the event, you can see their faces light up when they talk about the options opened up to them post-high school.” Stefan Sigurdson, owner of Allen Roofing & Siding in Ellisville and HBA member exhibiting at Build My Future STL, said, “This event presents an opportunity for students to discuss a career path in the trades with representatives from different companies and to gain direct insight into what each position entails. I believe more investment into school trade programs will help more students to get excited about trade careers. Exposure in high school to different trade positions helps create familiarity as career options are considered. The community can help by creating more awareness around Build My Future STL as a resource for students evaluating different career paths and considering a position in the trades.” Since the showcase began, Allen Roofing & Siding has seen an increase in interest in trade jobs, with some translation to fulltime hires. Hughes says that his company can also tell a difference in student interest in trade work since Build My Future STL began. “We have actually had students hired right from the show floor. That is not the norm, but it has happened,” Hughes said. To learn more about Build My Future STL, visit buildmyfuturestl.com.
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Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 5-1-24

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