LAHARPE — A new era in education within Allen County opens its doors Monday morning when the first construction trades students arrive for school.
As of Friday, 27 students were enrolled in the Fort Scott Community College course, the first to be offered at the new technical education center in the former Diebolt Lumber Company facility southeast of LaHarpe.
The students — primarily from Iola, Marmaton Valley and Uniontown high schools — will be greeted by head instructor Shannon Harrison, a construction veteran of more than 37 years.
“I’ve been excited about this since I heard about it,” Harrison said. “I’m so on board for our kids. There are going to be some rock stars come out of this program, I promise you.”
Through the program, students can earn an associate of applied science degree in construction trades. Students can then seamlessly further their education at a university — credits are transferable — while some may go straight into the workforce.
Because it’s a college course, made possible through Kansas Senate Bill 155, anybody can enroll; not just high-schoolers.
“Even you could sign up,” Harrison told a Register reporter Friday morning. “You could be 60 and enroll.”
The program is set up so participating high school students can take the course free of charge. (The cost to each school district is $280 per student). Non-traditional students must pay enrollment costs and other fees totaling $1,177.
The enrollment deadline for the fall semester is Aug. 29. For more information, visit fortscott.edu and click “apply now.”
After being hired by FSCC to oversee the construction trades class earlier this summer, Harrison visited at length with instructors at similar programs at Pittsburg State University and in Missouri.
“Right off the bat, our focus will be safety,” he said. “We’ll teach them how to read a tape, how to swing a hammer.”
Officially, three classes will be taught in the fall semester — introduction to craft skills; safety orientation; and floors, walls and ceiling framing.
From there, the class can be molded to follow one of several directions.
The PSU program, for example, entails students building sheds and outbuildings during their classes.
Harrison envisions something similar for the local program, or perhaps even more elaborate structures. Those details still need to be ironed out, he noted.
“The key part is we can change the program to fit our needs,” Harrison said. “We just need to make sure we go through the red tape.”
