Construction of the new school complex for Alexander Local School District has caused a number of sacrifices, including the loss of a workshop area for the agriculture vocational program.
School board members discussed the retooling of the program's curriculum during last night's board meeting.
The classroom and shop areas, which were to be completed this fall, now have completion deadlines of March 12, Superintendent Robert Bray said.
Because the area has been under construction for the entire school year, the program's 45 students are unable to receive hands-on instruction in a workshop setting, which is a main component of the program, said J.B. King, president of the Future Farmers of America Alumni Chapter.
All of the safety requirements have been completed, but the students need to be in the shop in order to learn skills such as welding and woodworking, said Richard Stevens, instructor for the agriculture vocational program at Alexander High School.
We theorize things
but we haven't been able to do things hands-on he said.
Board members discussed using the bus garage as a workshop until the actual shop is completed, but members decided it would be best to devote the entire last quarter of the school year to classwork in the shop.
The last quarter is the busiest quarter in the program because freshmen and sophomores share time in the workshop with juniors and seniors, who use the shop year-round, Stevens said.
In the meantime, King suggested that Stevens teach his students smaller projects such as electrical wiring that can be done in a classroom setting.
Although the contractors could miss the March 12 deadline, Bray said the classroom and workshop more than likely would be done by that date.
There's a real push now to make the deadline Bray said.
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