Hastings High School’s Tech Ed Department was honored at the Nov. 22 Hastings School Board meeting for recently winning the Program Excellence Award from the Minnesota Technology and Engineering Educators Association.
According to Superintendent Dr. Bob McDowell, “Candidates for the Program Excellence Award must be characterized as providing instruction of high quality, learner-centered, and relevant to a study of technology and engineering.”
The application process, as described by Hastings High School Tech Ed Department Chair Dave Davenport, “involves a lot of work, looking at our curriculum and evaluating and questioning what we teach, why we teach, and how we teach it.” The process also included contacting former students and former Hastings High School Principal Mike Johnson for letters of recommendation.
Davenport explained that the department has a broad array of courses including screen printing, metals, electronics, small engines, photography, and mechanics.
“We are trying to keep updated so we are constantly changing,” he said. “It’s constant change. It’s constant movement. Come and see what we truly do. It’s an open door anytime.”
One way the department stays updated is through program alumni.
Tech Ed teacher Nathan Neuman added, “We have a lot of students who have graduated out of the program, and they tell us what they are doing and what they are looking for in future employees, which allows us to stay current with the needs of our students.”
Other ways they stay current as program leaders include conferences, summer programs including tech school training for high school teachers, viewing the curriculum of other schools, and according to Tech Ed teacher Erik Dietz, “Making connections with employers looking for students with these sorts of skills.”
Neuman said, “We feel really fortunate to work where we work, and we have a really supportive community surrounding the Tech Ed department, allowing us to provide a lot of classes and opportunities that are not available in the surrounding school districts. It’s a super nice place to work.”
