By Milan Mayor Ed Kolar

I recently learned exciting news from Milan High School for the 2024-2025 academic year. The administration unveiled a new building and construction trades program. As a part of the district goal to increase Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, this initiative brings building trades instruction back to Milan Area Schools.

CTE Program brings building trades instruction back to Milan

Matt Walline, a long-time educator at Milan High School, is leading the program. According to Walline, the initiative was founded with two main objectives:

1.           To provide and promote programming at MHS that enables students to participate in genuine learning experiences while acquiring valuable life skills.

2.           To guarantee that our students have access to Career and Technical Education programs, facilitating direct entry into the workforce with industry certifications.

The CTE program at Milan High School offers a comprehensive curriculum designed to teach a diverse range of skills, starting with the proper use of various hand and power tools. Students engage in a series of projects that require different tools and woodworking techniques, emphasizing both safety and construction mathematics.

As they progress through the program, they acquire the ability to read plans and blueprints, as well as collaborate with a team to achieve specific goals. Additionally, students learn essential home maintenance skills, including electrical work, plumbing, drywall repair, and roofing. In the advanced CTE courses, they gain the expertise needed to construct a residential structure from beginning to end.

 Students learn skills like electrical work, plumbing, drywall repair, and roofing

By the end of the third year, the program is projected to serve approximately 80-90 students each year. Around one-third of these students will enroll in the entry-level Principles of Construction Trades elective, while the rest will be distributed across the first and second years of the CTE Construction Trades course.

 In the past, only four MHS students per year had access to the Construction Trades curriculum through the South & West Washtenaw Consortium (SWWC). Milan will continue to send students to the SWWC program, but the opportunity to offer this type of education to an additional 80-90 students annually is a significant advancement.

Principal Aaron Shinn and Matt Walline both conveyed to me that collaborations with local businesses, organizations, and community partners, such as the City of Milan, are fundamental to the CTE program. A key aspect of this program is engaging in civic activities that will benefit both the local community and the school district.

Numerous local construction and trade businesses have already demonstrated significant support. However, like any new initiative, it is still in the developmental stage. Additional community support to help acquire essential equipment and supplies would significantly enhance the first year of the CTE program, creating an exceptional learning experience for students and fostering its long-term success.

It’s paving the way for our future

Workers in construction trades utilize practical skills to create or fix physical structures and systems. If you’re inside at the moment, the building you’re in was constructed by skilled tradespeople. If you’re outside, take a moment to look around; trades professionals are responsible for all the roads, sidewalks, parking lots, bridges, and buildings surrounding you. The CTE program at Milan High School is paving the way for our future.

Note: The above article is from Milan’s quarterly newsletter, Connection, Winter 2025.