What’s Right With Our Schools Cleveland High School Welding Grant
CLEVELAND, TN (WDEF) – In today’s rapidly evolving workforce, careers in the trades are looking more attractive than ever. The American Welding Society Foundation recently awarded Cleveland High School with a grant of nearly $50,000. That money will support the continued growth and success of the school’s Welding Technology program. That’s a sturdy example of “What’s Right With Our Schools”.
“This is welding at Cleveland High School. Get freshman all the way through senior years if you take it all four years,” said Michael Ritchie, a welding instructor at Cleveland High School.
“I teach all four welding processes. Stick, mig, tick and flux core, as well as how to use all heavy equipment,” said Ritchie
“For some of us, it’s gonna be what we’re gonna do after high school. So in here, practicing, doing what we’re gonna do after we graduate and just putting that work in. So we can get a good job with a company,” said Spenser Clark, a junior at Cleveland High School.
“They’re looking for a career beyond going to college. And college is great but it’s not for everybody. So if they really lock in, they come back all four years, they get certifications through me, OSHA through me,” said Ritchie
“We can get them in the apprenticeship. With any of the unions, get them jobs in factories. So it’s not everybody’s made for an apprenticeship either,” said Ritchie.
“You can give it the opportunity to have the life that you want. You know, you put, you get out of it what you put in. So if you want to work, you know, 25 hours a week or whatever, you know, part time or what not, then you can do that,” said Gabe Krepps, a junior at Cleveland High School.
“It means everything. I mean you’re in the booth, it’s just you, you don’t have anything to worry about. I mean you don’t have anything to talk to… talk to yourself if you want to. But I mean that’s up to you. I mean it’s calm, chillaxing. It’s just everything you wanted to be,” said Logan Ledford, a junior at Cleveland High School.
“I have students that show up at 6.30 in the morning. An hour before school shows up, they usually beat me here. And then they’ll stay as late as 5.6.7 o’clock. I’ve been here until 2 o’clock in the morning. If they’re willing to put the time and effort in the morning in, I’m willing to be here because they have a passion and a drive. And I want to keep it going. So it’s not from the state, it’s from American Weldon Society, it’s a work force grant. So you have to do some grant writing and apply for it. And there’s people from all over the country that apply for this. And they give to numerous schools. The grant was for basically $50,000. It’s going to help us be able to put new equipment in the shop. We have a brand new facility, we all know this, but we can always put more in there that the students are going to see that we’ve not purchased yet. So I’ve got four new welding machines coming in. I’ve got a track burner, a pop beveler and some consumables coming in that the students…this is going to help further their education for welding,” said Ritchie.
“I’m glad we have the experiences now for everybody to have there on booth, and work at their own pace. Because not everybody is the same when it comes to learning as well as some people can learn differently. And we can teach them differently. So we love to be able to have that one-on-one experience with them,” said Kaleb Stewart Jr., a junior at Cleveland High School.
“Trades for the longest time was always looked at, well that’s plan B. Like if you can’t get into college or you’re not book smart in high school and you ain’t going to grow, that’s what you need to do is a trade. Like there was a dark light on this. So the community, seeing the great things that a trade can do now. And how the trades are making a comeback. That’s what, I mean, the kids need to hear. Like this is still a plan A. This is still a valid option. Just because you ain’t getting a college degree doesn’t make it not valid,” said Ritchie.
