Program Leads Students From the Classroom to the Job Site

Kelechi Okpa, left, an 11th-grader at DuVal, scrapes rust from a support brace as part of a school program at Bowie High that gives students training in construction. Cedric Clark, a student at Bowie, takes a skills test, below, during the program's classroom phase. (By Greg Dohler -- The Gazette)

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By Megan King

Gazette Staff Writer
Thursday, August 2, 2007; Page T05

For 22 Prince George's County students taking classes at Bowie High School, summer school comes with an unusual perk: a paycheck.

The students last Friday completed two weeks of classroom training on a variety of construction jobs, including plumbing, electrical work, ironwork and labor. This week, the students headed to various construction sites in the area, including National Harbor in Oxon Hill and the Washington Nationals stadium in the District, to try some of those jobs.

The program was the result of a collaboration among Del. Gerron S. Levi, the Washington D.C. Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO and the Prince George's County public school system.

Levi said she learned about a similar program at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring while on a conference call with officials from the D.C. trades council in May and asked that such a program be started in Prince George's. Vocational education gives students who are not college-bound an opportunity to get a high-paying job, she said.

"At the end of the day, not everyone's going to go to college, and I think this is a very attractive alternative," said Levi (D) of Woodmore.

The classroom training included an overview of building trades, 10 hours of safety training, which was certified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and labor history. Industry professionals were brought in to talk about their jobs.

On the job sites, students will work as "journeymen's helpers" and earn at least $10 per hour. They will work 40 hours a week for three weeks, said Brian Cavey, president and apprenticeship director of the Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers Local 24.

"These kids are great kids. They really are," he said. "They ask questions. They want to learn. It's a good class."

Cavey said construction trades are having trouble recruiting high school graduates because of the perception that students must attend college to be successful. Through apprenticeship programs, students can earn college credit.

"The sky's the limit, and these kids have just started," Cavey said. "They're at the very bottom, but they've already taken a basic apprenticeship program, and they're on their way to being a business owner."

Cedric Clarke, 16, of Bowie said the program led him to consider a career in plumbing or business management.

"You learn a lot from this, like safety on a construction site and how to act on a job site," he said of the program.

Victoria Ekeanyanwu, 17, of Glenn Dale, said a teacher at DuVal High School recommended her for the program. Ekeanyanwu said that although she plans to attend college and become a lawyer, she was interested in getting the job experience and, of course, the pay.

"It was a great opportunity for us to learn about the trades," she said. "It opened my eyes and made me appreciate all of the people who take these types of jobs."