Students can pursue industrial maintenance certificates this fall
By Erik Buchinger
A grant from the Wisconsin Technical College System will fund a third of Clintonville High School’s new industrial maintenance certificate program offered through Fox Valley Technical College.
“We received communication back, and (Fox Valley Technical College) applied for a grant on our behalf that will involve funding for the courses, which takes our costs down considerably,” Superintendent David Dyb told the Clintonville School Board on May 28.
The program originally would have cost the district $43,500 to offer the courses.
After the grant, it will cost Clintonville schools $28,225, a savings of $15,274.
The collaborative program with CHS will begin in the 2019-20 school year.
CHS Principal Kelly Zeinert said she and the administration look forward to bringing the program to the district.
“The kids are excited about it,” she said. “I’ve been on constant communication with Fox Valley Technical College, and we want to see this take off.”
Zeinert said they are looking at other areas to expose the students to.
“We already talked about 2021-22 with an exploratory class where kids do a semester of electrical or a semester of plumbing,” Zeinert said. “We’re trying to expose them to all the different trades, so we really want to use this and do this well so we can be that shining star up here.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to say Clintonville is doing this, and they’re having a lot of success in their industrial maintenance programs? The fact we were able to get the cost down is a bonus. We’re really excited about it and hope you are too.”
Zeinert said the hope is for 13 kids to enroll in the program starting in the fall. The number is currently at 10.
“Anyone can change their mind over the summer,” Zeinert said. “We have one home-school student inquiring about whether they can be part of this program. We reached out to them, and I think it’s going to be a big draw for our district.”
Dyb said the goal is to have kids ready to work as young employees.
“We need to have our kids have the prerequisite skills so they actually can walk into a business and be a functioning and competent young employee for them,” Dyb said. “These courses are another step in that direction.”