Mullan beefs up shop class thanks to CTE grant

MULLAN — Upgrades to the shop classroom at Mullan Jr./Sr. High School should result in expanded opportunities for career technical education students.

Thanks to a $60,000 grant from the Idaho Career Ready Students program, MHS industrial arts instructor Steve Trogden purchased five new welders, three drill presses, welding helmets, gloves, jackets and a miter saw. It also covered new carbide bits, blades and calipers for precise measuring and manufacturing of project components.

The Idaho Career Ready Students program was designed by the Idaho Department of Education to provide funds to school districts to increase their capacity for Career Technical Education for students in grades seven through 12. They accomplish this by incentivizing districts to create and improve programs geared toward preparing students to meet industry and workforce needs.

Trogden said that previously, students in his class had to share the limited welding equipment, which resulted in reduced time to hone their skills and complete projects. 

When Trogden received word that they had been awarded the grant, he and his students updated the classroom to accommodate the new equipment. This included fabricating a new four-bay welding booth that would facilitate both MIG and TIG welders.  

“It’s pretty cool,” Trogden said. “These new welders are like $10,000 apiece, but they are three in one (stick, TIG and MIG). We’re kinda building this up so that we can do all different types of fabrication here.” 

The increased amounts of machinery required upgrades to the shop classroom, but Principal Jacki Almquist said the decision to improve the facilities was an easy one. 

“Our school district has decided to support a rebuilding of the shop program from a high school program into a quality working environment where students will pick up valuable skills that help make them more immediately employable,” Almquist said.   

According to Almquist, seven of their 14 graduating seniors are pursuing CTE certificates after they graduate, with most of them planning to attend North Idaho College. 

“This is an important addition to our school because it is a stepping stone for certification,” Almquist said. “The students will be more prepared for millwright certification coursework and enter the workforce with a higher level of skill development.”

    Mullan High School senior Alex Trogden uses a new welder to fabricate a part of the framework for a new tool rack in the school's shop classroom.