A drone helicopter to record marching band formations. A $75 french horn mouthpiece made for just $5. Phone cases emerging from a 3-D printer.
Those are the kind of projects that
students are already churning out. Now with a $494,000 grant from the state, school officials plan to buy more equipment, expand technology and manufacturing instruction to middle schools and share their knowledge across the state.
Simple wood-carving in shop class doesn't cut it for the 21st century job market, school officials say. A computer matters more than a saw. In the corner of the Bowmen Fabrication Laboratory's computer lab, a 3-D printer rests alongside the paper printer. In adjacent wide open rooms, students are carving metal, building robots and using laser and vinyl cutters.
"You read statistics that manufacturing is coming back, but the jobs coming with it are advanced and high-tech," said Gary Bennett, Sherwood School District's academic chief.
Sherwood High School, among the state's top academic performers, has a
reputation for hands-on technical training. Recently, hundreds of
students in architecture, environmental science and carpentry classes
built a house that sold this summer.
John Niebergall, Sherwood's longtime engineering and shop instructor, has kept his students ahead of the curve for more than a decade. Back in 2002, students were starting to draw 3-D models on computers before grabbing a sander.
Now they can take a step further and make parts and vinyl stickers with automated computer commands instead of by hand. The goal is exposing students to both the brainstorming and hands-on production sides of manufacturing.
"They aren't going to all be engineers, but a lot of them can be engineer technician," said Niebergall. "If our kids can design and produce, that's a great skill set."
Sherwod High has already caught the eye of the manufacturing industry. They showed off some of their work at a manufacturing summit in Portland Jan 15 and were featured on KGW.
"It's a constant theme that high schools aren't prompting manufacturing as a viable option for employment," said Chris Scherer, executive director of Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which hosted the summit. Sherwood, he said, was an exception.
"As jobs in manufacturing even at the entry level get advanced, you need more advanced skills to be successful."
Currently, Sherwood High students can take wood and metal shop classes, along with five levels of engineering. The state grant will fund professional development and software at Laurel and Sherwood middle schools, so students come to 9th grade with the equivalent of Engineering I experience. That leaves more opportunities for college credit come high school.
The grant money comes from the career technical education revitalization program coordinated through the Oregon Department of Education and Bureau of Labor and Industries. The agencies divided almost $9 million among 23 school districts for hands-on teaching projects. The program also encourages school districts to work with each other and other businesses.
Under the grant, Niebergall can take Sherwood's work on the road. He plans to buy a small motorhome or mobile trailer, a "FabLab", filled with computers and manufacturing equipment to teach instructors in rural Oregon how to bring similar programs to their school and work with other students on projects.
Local businesses are already turning to Sherwood High's manufacturing program, says Niebergall. A Wilsonville man had a wristband printed on the school's 3-D printer as a prototype to show a factory abroad.
Video: iPhone case printed on Sherwood High's 3D printer
--Fenit Nirappil: 503-294-4029; email@example.com
You can read Sherwood news posted immediately online at www.oregonlive.com/Sherwood. Stories also appear in The Oregonian and the Wednesday Southwest Community News section.
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