The Monticello Express Online: In the News

By Kim Brooks
Express Editor

    This school year, Kirkwood’s Jones Regional Education Center is offering three new Career Academy courses: Metal Fabrication, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Technology and Biotechnical Engineering.

    Kristy Black, director of JREC, said, “It’s all about exposing kids to possible career opportunities and building the future workforce.”

    With manufacturing very important in Jones County and the surrounding areas, Black said Metal Fabrication is a way to expose students to potential jobs in the area. JREC also offers evening classes in the same field for adults. Black said with the money that was spent on the machinery, it is important to utilize them as much as possible.

    “GIS is a new and emerging field,” commented Black. She said it was hard to sell the course to high school students because they don’t know much about the field.

    “We want to get kids interested,” said Black.

    After taking the GIS course here, students can then transfer to the main Kirkwood campus and enter the two-year degree program.

    Jeff Miller, GIS coordinator for Dubuque County, teaches the GIS course at JREC. He has been with Dubuque County for eight years, working in Linn County prior to that. Miller earned his bachelor’s degree in science from the Minnesota State University in Mankato.

    Miller said his course entails using information and mapping hand-in-hand. GIS coordinators work with almost every county department, health, conservation, assessor, secondary roads and emergency management. During the recent flooding in Monticello, GIS mapping came in handy.

    “Pictures are worth a thousand words,” said Miller.

    This course will utilize and collect Jones County and Monticello data to record where fire hydrants are located. Miller said they will also find coordinates for manhole covers and storm sewers.

    As for why this course is needed, Miller said almost every county in Iowa has a GIS Coordinator. He said that is the direction things are going.

    “I hope students have a better understanding of GIS/GPS ways of mapping,” Miller said.

    There are currently five high school students taking this course. The second semester will have them learning the GIS software system ArcGIS.

    Metal Fabrication and Basic Machinery is taught by Kevin Boyens. He runs his own machine shop in Marion. He has 32 years of experience as a machinist. Training his own employees, Boyens said he is basically training future employees with teaching this course. Students will learn CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining.

    Boyens said with older machinists retiring, there is a need for people who can do all the programming on CNC. He said he knows what he expects from potential employees, which helps in teaching the students as well.

    “I hope this course peaks the students’ interest in engineering,” said Boyens, as well as improve their skills in tool and die making.

    Boyens’ class includes lectures, blueprint reading, math, geometry, trigonometry and hands-on machine work. He hopes they will soon be able to do their own programming.

    “You learn as you go,” said Boyens. “You just improve what you can do.”

    Metal Fabrication has 10 students. Once they earn credit from this course, they are able to transfer to Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids to continue their degree.

    Biotechnical Engineering, taught by AHS teacher Angie Lawrence, is a course that exposes students to the diverse fields of biotechnology including biomedical engineering, molecular genetics, bioprocess engineering and agricultural and environmental engineering.

    Lawrence said “students have to be able to problem solve and work with others to figure out solutions to the problem. Those skills are going to benefit each student in whatever they do in the future.

    “I also believe that once students feel successful with their ability to problem solve their confidence will also grow,” said Lawrence.

    This class is divided into five units ranging from documentation and safety, biotechnology history, genetic engineering, biofuels (where they will construct a car the runs on yeast) and human biology. There are 12 students in the class.

    Lawrence has taught AP Biology at AHS for seven years.

    As for how Kirkwood went about getting the instructors for these courses, Black said they were lucky enough to “find such amazing experts in the industry.” She said the students are very fortunate. While the experts may not have any formal teaching behind their belts, Kirkwood does offer new teacher workshops.