The Pella Community School District has undergone many changes in the Industrial Technology program.
Teacher Brent Ewell says the focus is changing from a “shop” based platform to one that incorporates high tech STEM curriculum and learning activities that provide exposure and alignment for students to high tech careers in industry and engineering.
“The Pella Community School District has a great foundation for a top Industrial Technology program that includes an incredible Career Academy building and a work-based learning program with three apprenticeships that most school districts in Iowa would love to have,” he says. “But the school district has had a turnstile of Industrial Technology teachers since the Career Academy has opened up.”
Ewell has a degree from the University of Northern Iowa in Industrial Technology Education and taught for seven years with the Knoxville Community School District, followed by nearly three decades with Pella Corporation in a number of roles. He then accepted an early retirement and jumped at the opportunity to get back into teaching with the Pella School District.
“I’ve been working with Lowell Ernst (Director of Curriculum), Adam Beckel (High School Principal) and the Industrial Technology CTE (Career Technology Education) Advisory Council (Jerry Byer: City of Pella, Cory Plants: Vermeer, and Breonna Rogers: Pella Corporation) to make significant changes to the curriculum that aligns better with the needs of the school district and the community.”
He says there is a new Advanced Manufacturing Lab the district has secured through a $60,000 phase one grant for high tech equipment, including ten table top articulated robots, 3D printers, and a CNC milling machine, and are in the process of completing the plan with an application for a phase two $30,000 matching grant which would include an automation robotics cell.
