The Construction Trades Program was formally announced during the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce member luncheon Dec. 12 at Southwest Baptist University-Salem. From left, volunteers with the Dent County Community Foundation and representatives from Salem R-80, Alex Sellers, Dr. Bernie Sirois, Joe Brand, Mary Beth Cook, John McColloch, Genie Zakrzewski, Marty Anderson, and Joe Kammerer, Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
Salem High School will soon be home to a new program that has the potential to advance its students, as well as the community around it.
In mid-November, an idea was pitched for a construction trades program to be implemented in the school, a unique experience that would give students hands-on learning for construction, but with the added bonus of improving Salem and Dent County as projects are completed.
Speaking with Marty Anderson, principal of Salem High School, he explained how the program initially became an idea that he wanted to pursue.
“Over the last two years I’ve been working with a group called GRO (Growth of the Rural Ozarks),” Anderson said, “It’s an economic development committee. One of the things we found out through our data was that revitalizing properties in this area is one of the primary issues. When you drive by and you’re from out of town, it just doesn’t leave a good taste in your mouth.”
These properties can be anywhere from abandoned lots to derelict structures and properties that need general maintenance to appeal to a wider community. Anderson talked about how a potential donor was interested in funding something that provided two things: a program that would equip the students with career-technical skills, and something that would revitalize the infrastructure of the community.
“What that person was describing to me was a construction program,” Anderson explained, “I knew this program would also bridge what GRO was looking at.”
Many students from SHS are already interested in technical careers and programs. Currently, 40 students go to Rolla Technical Institute every day for job training, four of which are involved solely in construction. Anderson explains that while the program is wonderful, the students who work on job sites in Rolla are only improving Rolla, not their own town. He also understands concerns for wanting to start a program with so few students interested.
“If you only have four kids, how can you justify a program for that?” Anderson asked, “Well, in my experience when kids are exposed to it in their community, and see and hear of the project it creates skin in the game. You will see the numbers escalate.”
The general curriculum for the proposed program is fairly linear as you go through the high school curriculum. A first-year student would have a one-hour block of time where they learn general safety practices, and obtain any certifications they need through OSHA. A second-year student would have a two-hour block, which is where they begin to apply those techniques in the field, and begin to assimilate to the skills they have learned. In the third year, three hours will be dedicated to completing projects in the area with all the skills they have learned. Anderson explained how it would all come to a head in their final year of high school.
“We want them to do an apprenticeship,” Anderson said, “We want to do something where they are on the job. Post-secondary we want to have opportunities that employers are coming by and talking to the kids. We also want to set things up with the St. Louis Carpenter’s Union and technical schools for their (future education). We would create a pool for local, regional and state-wide employment in the construction area.”
The program had its first open meeting to discuss progress and ideas Dec. 12. A tight schedule of events has been followed to this point, and progression toward the fully-fledged program seems to be within reach, Anderson said. He predicts that the first wave of this program will begin in the new school year, August of 2018. Will seeing students working hard to improve their town of Salem push the infrastructure forward? Anderson believes it will.
“If you can get a buzz going in the community, you’ll start to see people getting active, and it spreads,” he said. “This is a catalyst for this community.”