When you walk into the 30-ft. by 30-ft. classroom in Camden’s Promise Academy High School in Camden, New Jersey, you expect to see students sitting in rows watching the teacher up front. Instead, you see 12 students, completely focused on measuring, marking, and sawing wood to make tool totes.

These 10th graders are in their first year of a three-year pre-apprenticeship program offered by the Carpenters Union and adapted by Maplewoodshop to succeed in a regular classroom taught by the physical education teacher and coach, Sharon Waller.

Like many schools, Camden’s Promise does not have a shop room or shop teacher, so the ability to offer a pathway to the trades is important both for students and their families. As assistant principal Natalie Ciervo shares, “We are a Title I school. When you come into our school, you realize that you’re met with so many hardworking families who just want more for their children.”

How it works

This portable pre-apprenticeship program is made possible by Maplewoodshop, my New Jersey company whose mission is to help all children develop life skills through woodworking. We are thrilled that we can help create options for youth by providing turnkey woodworking programs that are safe, portable, and easy to implement starting in elementary and middle schools. We do not use any power tools, and we train regular teachers to lead woodworking, which saves organizations money by not having to invest in a dedicated room or an additional salary. We are proud to have started up more than 170 programs nationwide and are proud to be helping the Carpenters Union find its next generation of highly skilled members.

Principal Ciervo agrees: “The program is easy to implement. I think that it’s overwhelming to implement any new curriculum, but having been here for 11 years, this is probably the easiest curriculum to implement on day 1, coming from someone who has zero experience even building a bookshelf.”

Benefits

For the students, this program offers many benefits compared to their regular classes, including staying engaged, applying math, learning collaboration and confidence, and exploring future careers.

Waller notes, “The school day is long, the work day is long, and if they’re not doing something with their hands, we lose them.” Assistant superintendent Harold Shaw adds, “When you match students to programs that meet their specific interests and their career goals or postsecondary goals, you get an increased level of engagement.”

Hands-on math

When it comes to math, teachers and students agree that applying math is way more fun than traditional math class. Student Luis Villanueva notes, “Math is definitely easier in the carpentry class than actual math itself.” Waller adds, “When you’re working with wood or if you’re measuring the wood, you physically can see, ‘Oh, I need to have this measurement correct to be able to cut it appropriately to get the project finished.’”

Social development

Engaged and active learning leads to greater confidence and collaboration. Waller observes, “The collaboration I’m seeing with the group of kids that we have in carpentry is huge. They want to work together, they want to help each other … I encourage them to ask each other first to see if they can problem-solve it before they ask me.”

This active learning has also meant that behavioral issues have disappeared in the class. Waller notes, “I think it comes into all hands-on activity. From the second they walk in the door they’re setting up, and they don’t stop with the hands-on until the bell rings.”

Principal Ciervo has known these students since fifth grade and marvels, “You would never know that they struggled. They are beyond engaged. And my favorite part about it is that they have no idea that they’re doing math and they have no idea that they’re doing SEL. I used to have to beg them to stay after school for SEL programs, and now they’re just thriving and enjoying it all day long.”

College and career pathways

Ultimately what matters is that these students are ready to take on responsibility in the real world and have options for college or noncollege pathways. Waller puts it best: “In reality, we need the trades just as much as the trades need us. So I think that this is something that’s greatly valuable among society because we need to bring the younger generation into the trades again.”

Her students agree. Luis Villanueva, a sophomore, says, “I like the woodworking class. It gives you good opportunities in life and opens my mind to different things.” His classmate Randiel Rodriguez adds, “I see a future in it and I really just like it.”

Take action

So what can you do to help? Please watch the video below. Then share the links below with any elementary, middle, or high school teacher or administrator you know, and put them in touch with Maplewoodshop.

Learn more:

• Camden’s Promise
• See the program in action: Pre-apprenticeship Video
• Maplewoodshop