Seaford seniors master circuitry in new electrical training course
An electrifying course at Seaford High School is teaching students essential trade skills that will benefit them regardless of what profession they pursue in the future.
The high school’s Electrical Training Center celebrated its first graduating class on May 23, as nine seniors in the new program received certificates verifying that they had completed the course after 450 hours of onsite training throughout the school year. The course is a partnership between the high school and the Electrical Training Center, a Copiague-based facility that specializes in electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning education.
Robert McLaughlin, the training center’s assistant director, said the goal of the program is to introduce students to skilled trades.
“Some of these students have never worked with hand tools,” McLaughlin said, “so a big part of our training is to get them acclimated with construction, and then learning how to use hand tools.”
Graduating from the inaugural course are Even Alfago, Justin Cettina, Kyle D’Aniello, Cole DePaolis, James Dillon, Michael LoBasso Jr., John McCormack, Ella Tietz and Michael Wittenstein. Cettina says the program was everything he expected, and plans to use his experience to get a job after high school. Wittenstein, meanwhile, said the program helped him build problem-solving skills.
Students learn at the high school under the guidance of instructors from the center. The program, according to McLaughlin, teaches the basic theory and skills needed to understand how electricity works. They learn circuitry and wiring, along with how circuit boards and fire alarms function.
Xavier Arthur, the center’s instructor supervisor, said students in the course learn in different levels, from simple to more complex instruction. In level one, students learn the difference between series and parallel circuitry, and how to wire for each one. At this stage, Arthur said, students are beginning to understand the foundations of electricity and how it works.
“Having a good, solid foundation is key,” Arthur said, “and you learn that in bits and pieces throughout level one. Level two is more application, so they learn to troubleshoot and work on fire alarms. But how can you do that if you don't have a solid, fundamental foundation?”
At the next level, students learn different types of resources, such as conductors and a raceway, an enclosed conduit that creates a pathway for wiring. Arthur said students become familiar with touching, holding, feeling and installing these resources, giving them an additional building experience.
Understanding circuitry and how electricity works could be a major challenge, especially for 12th-grade students, but McLaughlin said relating how it’s used in the modern age is key to understanding the process. Using analogies for gaming consoles and charging phones are some of the ways that students could relate to, McLaughlin said. For each activity, McLaughlin added, it’s important to break the concept down for students.
“You can't start from an unrecognizable place,” McLaughlin said. “You have to get them to be familiar with it.”
As for safety, McLaughlin said students learn to identify hazards for each activity. The danger of electricity, according to McLaughlin, is that it can’t be seen, so students are taught how to properly handle equipment, understand insulation, and never work while the wire is live.
Using screwdrivers, pliers, power tools and other equipment, McLaughlin said, students are learning other trades, such as carpentry, that will give them a leg up should they enter the trade industry, which he added is growing at “an exponential rate.”
McLaughlin said students then graduate from the course with a certificate identifying that they took the training, but they also leave with an Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10 certificate, which is a federal certification of safety.
In addition to completion certificates, graduates also received citations from State Sen. Steve Rhoads.
McLaughlin said the course provided a comfortable environment for students, who learn through talking with instructors and working directly with circuitry.
As for next year, the district expects enrollment to double to around 20 students. For McLaughlin, taking a trade-based course, such as the electrical program, will help students pursuing a trade or engineering after graduation.
“If you're in high school, take the opportunity to explore and see what it's about and see if you like it,” McLaughlin said. “They're learning skills, like analytical thinking, problem-solving, and following directions. All the things that the industry is saying, ‘Hey, we need help with their learning in a shop format.’”
