Satellite manufacturing program offered at West Holmes High School
The new satellite manufacturing program launched this fall by Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center at West Holmes High School is turning out to be hugely successful.
Satellite programs are not common in this area, but career center Superintendent Mike Parry, who arrived last year from Butler Tech in Southwestern Ohio, sees them as a viable and cost-effective way to take the career center’s education “product” to meet students where they are.
The manufacturing program at the West Holmes campus was conceived with a wood-products emphasis because Holmes County is a leader in the nation in wood-crafted products.
Instructor Tom Kalo teaches a mixed-age group of almost 140 high school students who signed up for the program. Kalo started out the year emphasizing safety and practice of basic skills, and once students were proficient, they could choose a simple project: a birdhouse, a cutting board or a tool box.
In the process of construction, they have learned gluing, squaring, joining, sanding and other necessary aspects of project construction. Kalo said the initial projects may seem simple, but they create a baseline to assess each student’s skill level while incorporating all skills needed for larger, more complex projects like a table or dresser. Once the first project is successfully completed, students may move on to other larger projects.
Kalo is making sure students get a broad background as they learn about kinds of wood, best uses for those types, how to research and plan a project, and how to price materials for a project.
In an effort to be cost-effective, wooden pallets are being reclaimed for the program’s wood supply. “Reclaiming pallets is hard work, but you never know what kind of beautiful wood is in that pallet material until it’s cleaned up,” Kalo said.
Kalo, who has a construction background, touts the practicality of the program. “This is such a good way to connect academics to real situations. Take the Pythagorean Theorem. Lots of students don’t understand when it’s taught in math class, but when they see how it’s applied in this shop, a light comes on for them.”
Kalo's goal is to make sure students can walk into a manufacturing facility with a basic understanding of manufacturing and safety and the basic skills needed to do a good job. Kalo is planning for his students to do some of the interior work on the “tiny house” being built by eighth-graders at the middle school.
Housed in West Holmes High School’s old wood shop, the career center program is taking advantage of equipment, most of which was already there and needed just some slight refurbishing.
Kalo expressed his appreciation for the support that has come from the West Holmes administration. “They’ve been here for me when I had a question or the program had a need. I’m really grateful for their partnership.”