Knoxville High School teacher Sean Sanger has his manufacturing class making some high-quality work-based learning experiences. His class was featured in an article by the Iowa Department of Education for the quality experiences the students are learning.

Sanger has developed a strong manufacturing program for his students at Knoxville, partnering with local businesses for high-quality work-based learning experiences and purposeful real-world projects.

Sanger tells KNIA/KRLS News, “Well I believe the article was put out there by the Department of Education who likes to highlight certain departments throughout the year and I believe February generally is when they highlight the CTE (Current Technical Education) classrooms around the state.”

One particular business partnership has proven to be a successful one for Sanger’s students. Through their relationship with Weiler, an asphalt and forestry equipment manufacturing company, enriched opportunities for skill development and career exploration have grown.

Sanger has 10 students in the manufacturing class, both boys and girls. Sanger said the class is run like a small prototype business shop. The students get to choose which roles they play from being engineers, welders, etc.

According to Sanger they couldn’t do this without the businesses in the community and their support, such as Weiler.

Weiler has provided funding to support the expansion of Knoxville’s manufacturing equipment and training capabilities. Funding from Weiler offers opportunities for students to learn on similar machines and technology to what is used in the industry.