The first summer Career/Technical Education (CTE) seminars kicked off this week with sessions on construction and UAVs (“unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones). Rising middle school through high school freshmen in the McMinnville School District (MSD) were invited to participate in several free sessions of CTE summer offerings starting this week.

Students built “Tiny Homes” for chickens, working in teams to construct an A-frame chicken tractor and learned surveying techniques using drones and the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Upcoming sessions include:

“Don’t be Board this Summer” – Students will build a box, clipboard, and cutting board and have the opportunity to observe a real construction site.

“Make it Out of Metal” (two sessions) – Students will create and personalize their own sheet metal projects, using hand tools and hand-held power tools to cut, shape and finish their designs.

“Tiny Libraries” – Students will work together to construct a Tiny Library for community use using plywood, fasteners, hardware and roofing materials.

“Ceramics Workshop” (two sessions) – Students will design and create two ceramic projects, including rake fired ceramic table lamps and mosaic trays made from hand glazed ceramic tiles.

The sessions are run by MSD teachers including Eric Alexander, Rona Aspholm, Michele Brantner, Juanita Clarno, Chad DeYoung, Brent Fodge, Chip Ford, Dave Larson, Eric Lundeen, Nathan Murray, Judi Rodriguez, Sara Sanchez, Jacob Sanders and Dan Willis.

All summer seminars are held in McMinnville High School’s Career Technical Center (CTC), which opened last fall. The CTC was funded by a 2016 McMinnville School Bond.

The summer seminars are made possible by a CTE Revitalization grant from the Oregon Department of Education.

The grant is intended to fund programs for middle school and freshmen students to engage in experiential learning focused on the construction trades: electrical, plumbing/mechanical, design and engineering, HVAC, metalwork and fabrication, and carpentry. In addition to hands-on learning, students will explore societal issues related to affordable housing, sustainable building, green energy, city planning, homelessness, gentrification and more.