Oakland High School holds the ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony for the Vocational Trades Masonry program and facility at 11:45 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 19 at the high school.
The new building trade program was implemented to train students in various construction skills, beginning with masonry, to keep more students engaged, increase graduation rates and help job prospects after graduation, Oakland Principal Butch Vaughn explained.
Vaughn teamed Oakland up with RCHBA, the John Floyd Foundation and the Masonry Institute of Tennessee to build the first of five buildings to bring construction trades back, and possibly keep more kids, in school.
By bringing back trade classes, Oakland provides students with an opportunity to enter the workforce into a stable sector of Middle Tennessee’s economy.
After the successful implementation of the masonry program, Vaughn plans to expand the program to include four other trade-based buildings that will teach students electrical, plumbing, carpentry and HVAC skills.
Construction of the masonry building began in June 2007. Classes started last year in another classroom with students learning the basic safety rules of masonry.
Oakland High School was assigned “high priority” status in the 2008 Adequate Yearly Progress Report for No Child Left Behind, because of failing to meet graduation benchmarks for two consecutive years.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.
|
Email
Print
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo!