Oxford High School students interested in learning Computer Aided Design (CAD) will have to look elsewhere next year.
According to Superintendent Virginia Brennan-Kyro, the district has temporarily ‘suspended? the three CAD classes for the 2005-06 school year due to the low number of students who signed up for them.
OHS offered three CAD classes ? Tech-Prep CAD, Architectural CAD and Mechanical CAD.
Brennan-Kyro said a total of 27 students signed up for the three CAD courses next year ? six for Tech Prep, 12 for Architectural and nine for Mechanical.
The enrollment in these classes is just too low to economically justify offering them next year, especially in light of the budget constraints the district continues to face, said the superintendent, noting CAD class sizes have been declining steadily for the last five years (see shaded box below).
‘When numbers permit, we run three two-hour block classes of CAD,? according to Brennan-Kyro. ‘In 2003-04, because of low enrollment in Architectural and Tech-Prep, we combined those two classes into one two-hour block. At that time, we met with the teachers to discuss ways to recruit and increase numbers in both Architectural and Tech-Prep. Both teachers developed strategies that did boost course requests for the 2004-05 school year. Unfortunately, those strategies did not produce a long-term solution as the numbers decreased for 2005-06.?
‘Three years ago we ran (CAD classes) with low numbers because we were trying to nurse it along and keep it going, but now we’re to the point we cannot do it any longer. We can’t afford it. I wish we could, but we can’t,? she added.
Brennan-Kyro said, ‘Really the only reason the CAD program came to the forefront was because of the low enrollment numbers.?
‘Had there been 55 kids signed up we wouldn’t be talking about it,? she said.
All three CAD classes cannot be simply combined into one because the ‘depth and breadth? of them are ‘too different,? according to Brennan-Kyro. ‘It’s way too much to try to have all in one class. . . We’d be watering it down.?
OHS Principal Mike Schweig compared combining all three classes to trying to teach Spanish 1, 2 and 3 in one hour. ‘You’re not going to get the same experience. From a curricular standpoint, I just don’t think it makes sense.?
She noted that two out of the three CAD classes could be consolidated but that would still leave a class with between 15 and 21 students, which does not meet the school’s ‘magic number,? as Schweig put it, of 25 students per class. Twenty-five is ‘our target number for a class,? he said.
‘Some run at 22 or 23 and some run at 32. It’s a range, but the target is 25,? said Brennan-Kyro, who noted an average of three to five students drop a course at the beginning.
Oxford students who still wish to learn CAD have two options, according to the superintendent. They can either enroll in CAD classes at Oakland Community College while attending OHS or take the classes at Oakland Technical Center’s northeast campus in Pontiac.
With the latter choice, the school district does provide transportation to and from the technical center. ‘It’s not like if we didn’t offer it here, there wasn’t any way they could take it because of OCC and the tech center,? Brennan-Kyro said. ‘I thought those were viable options.?
Some parents expressed their concern about the loss of academic time to travel time going back and forth from the technical center. Going to and from Pontiac takes about an hour.
To that Brennan-Kyro said, ‘But if you took it at OCC, you could do it because they offer it at night.? The superintendent did acknowledge CAD students who play sports ‘might lose a season? because of night classes.
When Brennan-Kyro and Schweig met with 15 parents, four grandparents and two students regarding the CAD issue June 7 a third possible option was suggested and will be explored.
One parent suggested looking into enrolling students in the Lake Orion school district’s CAD program.
Brennan-Kyro said they plan to explore ‘would it be feasible to perhaps send our students there because it’s close by.? ‘That was an excellent idea. I hadn’t thought of that,? she said.
Another good idea that came from Tuesday’s meeting is to interview students who took the prerequisite class, Engineering Drawing, but did not sign up for CAD. ‘About 47 kids took Engineering Drawing and only 20-some signed up for CAD,? Brennan-Kyro said. ‘The question is why did those other 20-some not sign up? Was it a conflict in their schedule? Was it because they don’t want to make the two-hour commitment to CAD? Is it because the universities are asking for more rigorous academics? That’s part of what I’m hearing, but to really have the counselors talk to those kids and find out may help us.?
The district is going to focus on ways and strategies to ‘generate more interest? in CAD, the superintendent said. ‘We’re going to campaign more aggressively in terms of trying to help middle school kids understand the importance of CAD and the careers you could pursue with CAD.?
‘We’re not just going to stand idly by and see if kids sign up next year,? Schweig said. ‘We’re going out there to promote it, recruit, let kids know and get them excited,? Schweig said.
To that end, CAD instructor David Okasinki is being transferred to the middle school in the fall to begin teaching a 10-week tech exploratory elective class, part of which will involve CAD-related work. The idea is to get students interested in CAD in middle school so they’ll want to take it in high school.
Schweig said Okasinki’s transfer was beneficial money-wise because there was a vacancy at the middle school for which there was already a certified teacher working in the district. ‘Which would mean we don’t have to hire a new person for that,? he said. ‘So, that became a real budgetary inducement in terms of saying, ‘Boy, this is a way to save about $42,000? because a new teacher is around $30,000 and with benefits it’s another $10,000 or so.?
Some parents at the meeting expressed their concern that if CAD is cut for one year, it won’t come back.
‘I can appreciate that concern,? Brennan-Kyro said. ‘I do see a difference here because in the past if a class isn’t offered, we say we’re cutting that program. We indicated it’s going to be cut and it’s not coming back.?
‘With this particular program, we’ve indicated that we’re suspending it for one year. We’re going to try to retool the program to generate interest. And there’s a number of strategies we’re looking at. And some of those are to look at the O-Tech program ? their program is very successful. We need to find out if their curriculum is significantly different than ours.?
However, Brennan-Kyro was careful to note, ‘I can’t promise that it’s going to come back because again it’s going to depend on how many kids sign up.?
One area Brennan-Kyro said will be improved as a result of meeting with families and students over CAD is communication.
Parents were upset that next year’s CAD students were only recently notified that the class had been cancelled and parents were not.
‘They felt the parents should have been notified instead of hearing it from their kids,? she said. ‘Which I think was a valid point. And we’re going to work on that.?
Brennan-Kyro attributed the communication breakdown to a combination of the ‘uncertainty? over next year’s budget due to the non-homestead tax vote May 3 and the planning of an outdoor graduation at the new high school.
CAD instructor Okasinski said he’s ‘disappointed? his classes are being cut for a year because they ‘give a lot to students? as far as ‘technical skills? that lead to employment and the opportunity to explore different career paths.
The teacher said half of his second-year CAD students get jobs utilizing their ‘unique skills? during their senior year of high school and go on to pursue careers in engineering.
Okasinski noted that Michigan graduates the fourth highest number of engineering students in the nation (most from the University of Michigan) and engineering is one of the top three emerging career fields.
ally have the counselors talk to those kids and find out may help us.?
The district is going to focus on ways and strategies to ‘generate more interest? in CAD, the superintendent said. ‘We’re going to campaign more aggressively in terms of trying to help middle school kids understand the importance of CAD and the careers you could pursue with CAD.?
‘We’re not just going to stand idly by and see if kids sign up next year,? Schweig said. ‘We’re going out there to promote it, recruit, let kids know and get them excited,? Schweig said.
To that end, CAD instructor David Okasinki is being transferred to the middle school in the fall to begin teaching a 10-week tech exploratory elective class, part of which will involve CAD-related work. The idea is to get students interested in CAD in middle school so they’ll want to take it in high school.
Schweig said Okasinki’s transfer was beneficial money-wise because there was a vacancy at the middle school for which there was already a certified teacher working in the district. ‘Which would mean we don’t have to hire a new person for that,? he said. ‘So, that became a real budgetary inducement in terms of saying, ‘Boy, this is a way to save about $42,000? because a new teacher is around $30,000 and with benefits it’s another $10,000 or so.?
Some parents at the meeting expressed the concern that if CAD is cut for one year, it won’t come back.
‘I can appreciate that concern,? Brennan-Kyro said. ‘I do see a difference here because in the past if a class isn’t offered, we say we’re cutting that program. We indicated it’s going to be cut and it’s not coming back.?
‘With this particular program, we’ve indicated that we’re suspending it for one year. We’re going to try to retool the program to generate interest. And there’s a number of strategies we’re looking at. And some of those are to look at the O-Tech program ? their program is very successful. We need to find out if their curriculum is significantly different than ours.?
However, Brennan-Kyro was careful to note, ‘I can’t promise that it’s going to come back because again it’s going to depend on how many kids sign up.?
One area Brennan-Kyro said will be improved as a result of meeting with families and students over CAD is communication.
Parents were upset that next year’s CAD students were only recently notified that the class had been cancelled and parents were not.
‘They felt the parents should have been notified instead of hearing it from their kids,? she said. ‘Which I think was a valid point. And we’re going to work on that.?
Brennan-Kyro attributed the communication breakdown to a combination of the ‘uncertainty? over next year’s budget due to the non-homestead tax vote May 3 and the planning of an outdoor graduation at the new high school.
CAD instructor Okasinski said he’s ‘disappointed? his classes are being cut for a year because they ‘give a lot to students? as far as ‘technical skills? that lead to employment and the opportunity to explore different career paths.
The teacher said half of his second-year CAD students get jobs utilizing their ‘unique skills? during their senior year of high school and go on to pursue careers in engineering.
Okasinski noted that Michigan graduates the fourth highest number of engineering students in the nation (most from the University of Michigan) and engineering is one of the top three emerging career fields.
When asked why he believes Oxford’s CAD classes have suffered declining enrollment, Okasinski speculated it’s because of all the new electives being offered to students. ‘There are more choices. Things are more spread out,? he said.