In Oakley Van Oss’ construction class, a dozen Summit High School students are toiling away outside on what is perhaps the most ambitious project of their high school tenure. Instead of bird feeders or shelves,.
While college has become a widely accepted path for many students’ futures, college is not the right choice for everyone, said Summit Homes Construction senior project manager Caroleanne Powers. This year, Summit High partnered with.
Students in high school are on the precipice of the real world. Whether they choose to join the workforce straightaway or attend higher education institutions, each class is preparing them to be active and engaged.
Not everyone is meant to go to college, and Summit High School does what it can to support its students who might not want to take that path. Summit High School’s Oakley Van Oss is.
Photo from Oakley Van Oss / Summit High School
For Summit High School teacher Oakley Van Oss, education is about giving students the tools to improve the world around them literally.
In his construction technology and welding classes, Van Oss lets students take reins on various hands-on projects.
“To give kids the opportunity to have their first experience creating projects and fabricating, I feel like is just giving them this lifelong potential of making their own personal space and their own world better,” Van Oss said. “They can solve problems, fix things and create things, which is really fun.”
About five years ago, then-Principal Drew Adkins and one of the district’s maintenance workers approached Van Oss who taught Spanish and social studies at the time about creating a welding class for students to learn the trade.