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12 | Transportation Today Wisconsin™                                                      Online Edition: www.transportationtodaywi.com


        Whitewater Tech Ed Students Receive ASE Certifications Continued from Page 1
        15 years before I was born . . . He taught me   ment  of  Public  Instruction  (DPI)  website,  was   rabilia, Buntrock said, adding that when Mansky   This  year,  Buntrock  engaged  with  nearly
        about  mechanics,”  Buntrock  said  in  the  earlier   re-enacted in 2018 and set in motion in 2019 to   suggested the idea, he thought it was “wild and   100  students  through  such  course  offerings  as
        interview.                          serve as a mechanism used to establish regional   cool.”               Automotives 1 and 2, Metals 1 and 2, and a class
            Buntrock said his brother chose a career in   pathways, increase the rigor of work-based pro-          about “car care,” he said.
        the automotive field, but he was drawn to teach-  grams,  improve  student  performance  through   Growing the program  Next  year,  there  will  be  some  additional
        ing.                                focused activities and support, and expand non-  Looking at the success of the high school’s   course offerings, including Advanced Auto and a
            As  an  automotive  instructor,  he  said,  he   traditional occupations, among other goals. The   tech ed program, Buntrock said he arrived at a   class called “small engines,” among others.
        found a way to use both sets of skills.  federal program is grant-based and facilitated at   time of change, and while a foundation was in   As he looks toward the future of the White-
            As a teacher, he noted, he finds helping stu-  the state level.     place, he saw room for growth.     water High School tech ed department, he said:
        dents develop a career path equally as inspiring   Buntrock  described  opportunities  made   He  works  within  the  tech  ed  department   “I’m most excited about the opportunities I know
        as giving them the ability to become self-reliant.  available through the program as “substantial.”  with fellow tech ed teacher Mason Pautsch, who   I can provide my students through the support of
                                                                                joined the high school staff during the 2020-21
                                                Information  about  the  program  as  pre-
        Supporting the tech ed program      sented  on  the  DPI  website  is  here:  https://dpi.  school year and teaches woods and construction,   the administration and the district.”
                                                                                                                       Now, almost a year in, he said, he feels con-
            Along  with  supporting  his  students,  Bun-  wi.gov/cte/carl-perkins.  Buntrock noted.               nected to his students.
        trock said he wanted to embrace an opportunity                             As  a  teacher  who  is  new  in  the  district,   “Everything  feels  good,  and  strong,”  he
        to develop tech ed programming.        Buntrock  said  his  building  principal  saw   Buntrock said he has spent time building rela-  said.
            Within the Whitewater Unified School Dis-  an increase in opportunities brought by the ASE   tionships and rapport with his students, and he
        trict, he said, he was impressed by the level of   certification program and offered his support to   and Pautsch have worked together to grow the
        support for the tech ed program, and for embrac-  the tech ed program through development of the   department into a place through which they can   whs.wwusd.org
        ing  opportunities  brought  through  the  ASE   customized shirts.     “give our students the best learning opportunities
        certification process, which, he noted, can help   Additional collaboration was established at   we can.
        support his automotive classroom budget.  the high school when members from the school’s   “We are on the right track,” he said.  Article  and  photos  by  Kim  McDarison,
            He made reference to the “Carl D. Perkins:   home economics department were tapped to sew   Within the tech ed environment they have   Publisher/editor/reporter  for  the  Fort  Atkinson
        Strengthening CTE (career and technical educa-  the ASE patch onto each recipient’s shirt.  collectively envisioned, Buntrock said, the focus   Online. Reprinted with permission.
        tion) for the 21st Century Act,” which, according   The shirts worked well as an incentivizing   is on safety, while offering a “creative, career-
        to information found on the Wisconsin Depart-  tool because each student saw it as school memo-  oriented and life-skills-oriented area for growth.”



        STEAM Grants Awarded to Three Area School Districts Continued from Page 4
                                                          Wittenberg-           claw  and  then  put  it  back
                                                                                in  a  bucket  outside  of  the
                                                          Birnamwood            course. There’s two or three
                                                          School District       of them. Those have to go
                                                                                inside a house that is built
                                                          Urban Search and      and  also  go  up  and  down
                                                          Rescue Robot          some  ramps  in  a  certain
                                                                                amount of time. And there
                                                              The    Wittenberg-  is also a written test to dem-
                                                          Birnamwood    School   onstrate your knowledge of
                                                          District  received  $1,000   different  robotic  laws  and
                                                          for  an  urban  Search  and   how everything is built.”
                                                          Rescue  Robot  that  will   When  driving  the
                                                          be  used  by  students  in   robot  in  competitions,
                                                          Skills  uSA  competitions   Novy  said  she  will  need
                                                          that  are  held  throughout   to drive it without looking
                                                                                                     Members of the student Skills USA group at Wittenberg/
                                                          the  state  of  Wisconsin.   at the robot. An iPhone is  Birnamwood High School, Kalene Rasmussen, Sabine Yaeger,
                                                          District  competitions  are   mounted on the robot, and   Chekotey Horachek, Dustin Yaeger, and Marli Novy, with group
                                                          held at high schools, while   the  robot  must  be  maneu-  advisor Caleb McPhail, accept STEAM grant funds from Central
                                                          regional  competitions  are   vered by the view provided   Wisconsin Electric Cooperative.
        Tigerton High School Science teacher Chad Pritzl, high school   held at universities or tech-  by the iPhone.  school.
        student Loghan Wanta, Tech. Ed. teacher Tim Schmidt, and   nical  colleges.  From  state   McPhail said this year is the first year the
        Tigerton High School/Middle School Principal Nate Johnson with   competitions,  there  is  an   Wittenberg-Birnamwood  School  District  has   “All these different competitions, the things
        the exercise bike that will be used to build an energy bike for   opportunity  to  qualify  for            they prep for, we don’t have time throughout the
        students to learn about electricity.                                    competed in the robotic challenge.  day, our normal day periods for them to come
                                                          Nationals.               “Marli  (Novy)  saw  it  last  year  when  we
        lead with the project and we’ll build it right in    Caleb McPhail, Tech-  were  doing  other  competitions  and  she  really   in,” he said.
                                                                                                                       McPhail added that primarily two to three
        the classroom,” Pritzl said.        nology  Education  and  Woodshop  teacher  at   wanted to get into that,” McPhail said.  students helped build the robot for competition.
            Pritzl added that he believes the project   Wittenberg-Birnamwood  High  School  who   Novy, a student, said she is interested in   “The nice thing about this is we can disas-
        will  engage  some  of  the  students  who  are   oversees  the  students  participating  in  Skills   engineering.  semble it at the end of the year,” McPhail said.
        reluctant  learners  in  the  learning  process,   uSA,  said  the  robot  used  in  competitions   “This  looked  like  a  good  opportunity  to   “It packages all back up and we can start from
        especially  during  the  design  and  fabrication   throughout  the  state  will  be  operated  by  a   learn more and be able to create something that   scratch  the  following  year.  So,  we  can  reuse
        process.  It  will  also  provide  more  advanced   student  who  must  perform  specific  tasks  with   actually  creates  something  that’s  used,”  Novy   it  over  multiple  years  with  different  students
        learners  an  opportunity  to  explore  electrical   the robot that are already pre-established.  said. “And it’s something that should help me   having to go through and basically redesign it.”
        engineering.                           “There’s a course you have to go through,   with whatever I decide to do.”
                                            and in this course, you have two mailboxes,” said   McPhail  said  all  the  work  done  associ-
                                            Marli Novy, a student who will be operating the   ated with Skills uSA events is done during the
            www.tigerton.k12.wi.us          robot in competitions. “In some of the mailboxes   students’  free  time,  which  includes  time  after   www.wittbirn.k12.wi.us
                                            there is going to be a cube you pick up with the
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