IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa City High School student Jerry Mwenemkamba enrolled in an industrial technology class because he thought it could teach him life skills that would serve him after graduation.
At first, it looked boring, he admitted.
Over a month in, Mwenemkamba now sees it as an important class that “everyone should take.”
Though it may not be in the plans to have every student enroll in a class as part of the industrial tech program at the high school, those that do are enjoying a new facility at City High located in what was previously the school’s cafeteria.
A new cafeteria, as part of an addition to the school, was approved in 2018, freeing space that hosts an industrial tech facility, among other classes. There had not been a permanent industrial tech facility at City High since the school’s performing arts addition was built on the site of the former industrial tech shop in 2013, principal John Bacon said in an email.
There’s no fee for students at City High who get involved in these classes.
The space is not entirely complete, but it’s going to be a “beautiful shop,” John Reynolds, industrial arts teacher, told the Press-Citizen.
“I’d say it set a good precedent for the district as far as what we should have if we really want to support this area, and unfortunately, my area requires a lot of space. It’s very loud. It’s very expensive, and it’s dangerous,” he said. “That’s a hard sell.”
When Aruni Baloci was asked what he thought has been particularly cool about participating in an industrial tech class at City High, he had a simple response.
“I held a big sledgehammer,” he said.
Will Karr, another student in Reynolds’ classes, said his dad is a local contractor and that it was because of him that he got into the trades.
“It opens up new perspectives,” Karr said. “Especially as I got into this more, it’s like you look at something, ‘Hey, that’s not to code. That’s not right.’ But it makes you want to fix it, now that you know how to.”
Karr explained that students in Reynolds’ classes need to show up, and more importantly, be safe.
Reynolds’ approach to his class is three-pronged. Students need to be safe. That’s paramount.
When they feel safe, they can have fun. And they need to have fun to learn, Reynolds said.
Students have the option to learn traditional woodworking, as well as take courses on blueprint reading and creating, welding, fundamentals in 3D printing, and more.
The goal is that by the time students leave the program, they’re familiar with nearly all the tools that’d be in most commercial shops, know the order of steps when building something, and all the careers available to them.
Reynolds went to art school, became a carpenter, then worked as an art teacher before transitioning to becoming an industrial tech teacher. He started at City High in 1999.
He said he wants to foster students’ skills — whether that’s in carpentry, photography or something else — so that they can always have something to rely on as they pursue different careers in their lifetime.
For Reynolds, it’s not about choosing between a job or higher education. It’s about students pursuing both.
The simple desire to work with their hands draws students to these classes, Reynolds said. He speculated that part of that interest actually stems from social media as people watch videos about restoring things on YouTube or scroll through people carving things on TikTok.
“It’s really the golden hour for our area, and a lot of my colleagues have mentioned this. We need tradespeople. People are starting to appreciate skilled labor a lot more,” he said.
The days of lunch lines and meals are gone inside the former cafeteria space.
Now, it’s home to equipment such as the table saw SawStop, whose spinning blade stops immediately upon contact with skin.
There is also a set of four walls that resemble a tiny house, where students learn the basics of residential wiring.
The return of an industrial tech facility at City High addresses an equity challenge that arose, considering both Liberty High and West High had a facility, Reynolds said.
Until now, Reynolds had been setting up shop — literally — in temporary spaces. But he emphasized he’s always had support from the Iowa City School District, making it clear that this isn’t his shop.
“Whether it was me teaching here or not, any other person would have done the same thing,” he said.
The facility and classes act as a “feeder program” to the Kirkwood Regional Center in Coralville, which offers classes in construction, engineering, welding and more for high school students.
Over the years, it became evident that there was a need to have both the Kirkwood Regional Center and a facility at City High, Bacon said in an email.
But seeing this facility come to fruition wasn’t the only hurdle.
“I would say the biggest thing that’s going to hamper this program is that it is impossible — I’m not joking — to find industrial tech teachers,” Reynolds said.
Chris Shaw is a recruitment and advising coordinator with the Department of Applied Engineering & Technical Management at the University of Northern Iowa.
Within the department is the technology and engineering education major, which prepares graduates to teach industrial arts at high schools.
According to the university’s website, the program graduates more industrial tech teachers than “any other institution” in Iowa.
Shaw said the shortage is not only in Iowa but across the country, saying he has principals and superintendents reaching out to him from South Carolina to Alaska seeking tech ed teachers for their schools.
In his opinion, the shortage is a result of a significant difference in pay between teaching and working in the industry. The starting salary for the latter is higher, and in some instances, Shaw believes double what someone would make in their first year in teaching.
“I think I graduated six students last year, and of those, only four actually became teachers,” he said.
This year, of the nine students who will graduate from the tech-ed program between December and May, Shaw said he already knows two will not go on to be tech teachers because they’ve received job opportunities in the industry paying far more.
Enrollment for the program hovers around 30, though the junior and senior classes do get larger thanks to a few transfer students.
The program has seen some drop in student enrollment in recent years, Shaw said.
“It’s been particularly difficult the last three or four years. … I don’t know if it’s COVID-related or if it’s industry-related, but we’ve seen a little bit less interest in students wanting to break into the industrial technology teaching field,” he said.
Students involved in West, Liberty and City High’s industrial tech classes will have a new opportunity for more hands-on experience next year.
Reynolds will teach a year-long course in which students will build a house.
Students will do as much of the work as possible, but they will be mentored by professionals, including electricians and plumbers.
One of the most gratifying things, Reynolds said, is seeing a student empowered when they work with a table saw or some of the imposing tools around the facility.
“You can tell they’re frightened at first. … You can tell they show up kind of hesitant. And then by the end, they’re empowered that yes, if I can do this, I can apply this same sort of strategy to other dangerous things, whether it’s driving or flying or being a heart surgeon or rock climber or something,” Reynolds said.
“You can approach these dangerous things and be fine.”
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