At a recent Alva Public Schools Board meeting, trustees and attendees praised a career-technical program visit in which students demonstrated wind-powered models and welding projects.

Unidentified speakers described a classroom where a teacher emphasized soft skills — greeting, eye contact and respectful correction — while students tested wind-powered devices and worked on welding projects they planned to show in Hawaii. "I wish I had that," one Unidentified speaker said, summarizing the sentiment several attendees expressed about the hands-on instruction.

Board members and career-technical educators said the program is highly project-based and can align with new 2030 graduation requirements by allowing some projects to count for math or science credits. One speaker noted that tasks such as programming plasma cutters, measuring shapes and performing welds involve geometry and linear algebra that make academic concepts tangible.

Speakers questioned how performance assessment is structured under PAP and were told the classes rely heavily on project-based evaluation with some benchmark and paper-based checks. Organizers described bringing in industry professionals (welders and others) to interview students and evaluate projects, and attendees said the visit demonstrated steps students can take from secondary school into career-technical pathways and on to college or professional programs.

Mister Pierce (role not specified) was thanked by multiple speakers for organizing the visit. Attendees encouraged wider adoption of the program across area campuses.

The discussion concluded with general appreciation for the program's ability to engage students in applied STEM and career-oriented work; no formal board action on the program was recorded during the meeting.