Sawdust News February 2024
A Message from Mike
February is both Black History and CTE (career and technical education) Month. We are thrilled to be in a position to give all youth exposure to career options and a sense of purpose as early as possible. I want to focus on one example.
Last month, we completed Carpentry 3 - Residential Construction from the Carpenters Union pre apprenticeship program called Career Connections. This means that high school students nationwide can both explore a trade AND earn 16 college credits! That’s like 5 AP classes.
All the while using hand powered tools in regular classrooms making implementation accessible in any school.
The more youth from more backgrounds who can find purpose and career opportunities, the better. We are proud to play a part.
Please let us know what you think by sending me a note at mike@maplewoodshop.com.
Mike
Did you know?
Why is there a CTE month? Because after decades of attempting to fit every student into a service/information economy,we now have major gaps in our workforce. Generational demographics are not helping either.
Lack of Skilled Workers
1⁄3 of skilled tradespeople will retire by 2028 leaving 3 million jobs unfilled
32% of skilled trade pros will retire by 2028 leaving 3 million skilled trades jobs open or
unfilled
Source: Where is the Next Generation of Craftsmen?” HomeAdvisor Insights Forum Rasmussen Reports 2014
Deloitte projects GDP loss of $2.5T over the next ten years due to a lack of skilled workers
Source: Deloitte Consulting. 2018 skills gap in manufacturing. Accessed Sept 26, 2022
Funding Sources
For CTE month, please explore Perkins grants which are from the Department of Labor and in many states, now extend down to 5th grade.
More information here.
Program Updates
All three books of Career Connections have now been adapted to work with hand tools. This 16 credit pre-apprenticeship program can now be delivered in any classroom, when offered as an elective, by any certified teacher.
The 2-3 year program includes over 100 hours of project videos, detailed lesson plans, rubrics, and assessments. The program also includes visits by Union council reps and visits to local training centers.
Programs are available in 10 states. Please reach out to info@maplewoodshop.com to explore this amazing opportunity!
Are you on LinkedIn? Stay connected with us and subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
The Orange Pencil Award
87 Afterschool program! This innovative program has benefitted from years of thoughtful leadership of James Mitchell and now enjoys three wonderful teachers Leah Middleton (not pictured), Nicole Robertson and Joseph Calvarino.
Welcome to the Family
Santa Paula in California
We are excited to welcome Santa Paula to the Maplewoodshop family! We can’t wait to see the student’s projects and look forward to many years of partnership!
Upcoming events
American Camp Association Tri State Conference
March 12-13
Atlantic City, NJ
New York City District Council of Carpenters Training Center Open House
March 27
Manhattan, NY