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Everyone at the Table

Friday, February 21, 2020

It takes solid partnerships to create top-notch work-based learning opportunities for high school students, and Hayward High School’s Construction Academy is an outstanding example of getting all the stakeholders at the table. Now in its second year, the Academy allows students to complete coursework and graduate with a one-year Construction Essentials technical diploma from Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College (WITC)-Rice Lake. How did they do it? Let’s look at each of the partners who made it possible.

CTE teacher Scott Beranek oversees the Construction Academy. A CTE teacher for more than 30 years, Scott worked as a builder for many summers. “A couple things just came together,” says Beranek.

First, “WITC-Rice Lake reached out,” he says. To complete the Construction Essentials technical diploma, students take coursework at the high school level that mirrors the first year of WITC’s two-year construction degree program:

  • Construction Essentials (36 weeks)
  • Technical Math (18 weeks)
  • Print Reading for Residential Construction (9 weeks)

In doing so, students save the cost of the first year of tuition and can continue at WITC to earn the two-year associate’s degree or head into the workforce after graduation.

Construction Academy students
The students of Hayward High School's Construction Academy

At about the same time that WITC-Rice Lake reached out, Northland Area Builders Association came calling. Beranek said that Northland wanted to partner with the school because the association’s member businesses were concerned about getting qualified skilled workers. Nearly 40 businesses threw their support behind the program by announcing that Hayward’s Construction Essentials technical diploma would serve as a student’s “resume” at their business. “That’s their ticket in,” says Beranek.   

With the help of WITC-Rice Lake, Hayward pulled it all together. Because all classes are taught in Hayward, the Construction Academy needed to have all teachers and the Hayward facilities accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.  Through this collaboration, Hayward became the first accredited outreach center for WITC in Wisconsin!

This program is a win-win for everyone. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t take it,” says Hayward Senior Tiler Roberts. “It’s free, and it teaches you everything from how to read a tape measure to how to build a wall.”

WITC-Rice Lake is getting more students in its construction degree program, and Northland Area Builders Association has begun donating to the program, giving nearly $10,000 for supplies over the past three years. Northland is also paying the $25 fee for students to take the OSHA 10 certification test.

And Scott Beranek? He’s been busy letting local contractors and businesses know that the school district has a pool of local, trained students ready to work.

—Mary Maderich, B.A., M.Ed., Instructional Technology, CESA 12, Ashland, WI