Gravette HVAC course prepares students for employment

Photo by Susan Holland Nate Gruver and Dylan Shaw look on as Chris Holloway, foreground, solders the holes in an evaporator core. The boys are students in the HVAC course being taught for the second year at Gravette High School. The class is one of four being offered in the GHS program of occupational education.
Photo by Susan Holland Nate Gruver and Dylan Shaw look on as Chris Holloway, foreground, solders the holes in an evaporator core. The boys are students in the HVAC course being taught for the second year at Gravette High School. The class is one of four being offered in the GHS program of occupational education.

— Students in Matthew Coleman's HVAC class filed into the classroom on a recent school day and went right to work on the various pieces of heating and air equipment scattered throughout the room. With several hours of textbook study behind them, Coleman turned them loose to dismantle the pieces of equipment, name each part and tell the function of each, then put the pieces back together again. This hands-on learning is a key component of the program.

Coleman has 10 students in his class, which meets for an hour and a half each afternoon. Last year, students from Gentry, Decatur and Gravette were enrolled; but this year, the second for the program, all the students are from Gravette school district. Since the course is a part of the new Western Benton County Career Center, it is open to junior and senior students from Bentonville, Decatur, Gentry and Gravette. They are able to receive concurrent credit, credit on both the high school and college level.

Much work has gone into making the HVAC class possible. Coleman is employed by Northwest Arkansas Community College and his salary is paid by the college. Equipment and tools were donated by NWACC. The initial money for torches, tools and other materials came from a General Improvement Fund Grant which Senator Jim Hendren and Representative Kim Hendren helped secure. The Gravette Kiwanis Club paid for textbooks, which cost $198 each. The students' NWACC tuition is also paid through a GIF Grant.

Coleman began teaching the class last October. A Westville, Okla., native, he received his training at the Indian Capital Vo-tech in Stilwell, Okla. Students were recruited for the program through an intensive effort by Jay Chalk, high school principal, and Richard Page, superintendent of schools. They initiated a focus on vocational education courses after noting that 45 percent of Gravette graduates failed to go on to post-secondary studies. They felt a great need to serve those students and focused their attention on preparing them for a career. Chalk emphasized that students must be on track to graduate before being accepted in the class, but some students who are especially interested in attending and are not on track can be helped to make up credits.

More publicity about the district's emphasis on vocational education has increased public awareness about the course and generated additional student interest. Shannon Mitchell, high school counselor, helped increase that interest in an assembly held before registration this fall. She presented a slide show highlighting the opportunities available.

The need for qualified HVAC workers in the area has been identified. A report from Mike Harvey, at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Council, showed this need and Coleman says he has been contacted by friends in the heating and air business who have asked him to refer promising students in his class. One graduate of last year's class was hired by Jeff Hendren, owner of the Gravette business H & K Heating and Air, and others were hired at Tyson Foods and Simmons Foods. Students appreciate the chance to go to work in the area and not have to travel too far from home to seek employment.

Bryce Romine, a junior in Coleman's class, said he thought about going to college but didn't really have a plan. He met with Principal Chalk, who talked to him about the HVAC program and the potential for careers in the field. After their conversation, he decided to enroll in the class.

"I thought I could get an HVAC degree, work in the field a few years and make some money for college," he said. "Or," he said after a moment of hesitation, "I might just like it so well, I'll make it my career."

"I really like the hands-on stuff," Romine said. "The reading stuff, that's a different story," he admitted with a grin.

Ethan Bohannon, a senior in the class, agrees with Romine that he prefers the hands-on work. "I like working with my hands. It's really fun," he said. Bohannon has worked some with his brother who is in the heating and air business. Since he is a senior and the program is a two-year course, he will finish his training next year at NWACC.

With a proven need for workers in the area and employers just waiting for workers to graduate, the HVAC program is expected to become increasingly popular. Former academic programs focused mainly on the college-bound student, but administrators and staff at Gravette High School are doing their best to change the focus to include the vo-tech students and those who are immediately career-bound.

Community on 10/26/2016