Tool time: Schools nail down support from building trades group

La Conner High School teacher Daniel Castillo believes in giving his students all the tools they need for success.

And thanks to a major building trades organization, he will be able to fill their toolboxes when classes resume in the fall.

The Building Industries Association of Washington recently presented Castillo a check for $2,500 to purchase tools for a new introduction to residential carpentry class at La Conner that will be part of the school district’s expanded career and technology education program.

“It is just one of six CTE courses we will be offering,” La Conner Middle and High School Counselor Lori Buher told the Weekly News Thursday. “It’s important to the school board and the administration that we support the needs of all our students – those who intend to continue on for a university degree and those who will take a technical path.”

La Conner Schools will literally build upon that CTE foundation, said Buher.

“We’re anticipating adding more technical classes in cooperation with the Swinomish Tribal Community,” she said. “It’s very exciting.”

The school’s district’s plan certainly sparked excitement within the Tumwater offices of the BIAW, which named La Conner’s new home carpentry class as one of eight construction trade instructional projects across the state to receive funding support.

In addition, 16 individual Washington state students are also BIAW scholarship recipients this year, with total awards approaching $60,000.

Since its inception, the BIAW has funded over $670,000 in scholarships and grants for students and programs demonstrating a passion and commitment to developing careers in the home-building industry.

“We’ve continued to grow our scholarship fund to encourage students to follow our path in the residential home-building industry,” said BIAW President Tracy Doriot. “We know first-hand the satisfaction and success that comes from building the places people call home.”

So, too, does Castillo.

The Bay Area native, a graduate of Long Beach State University, has been involved in several home-building and remodeling jobs, including in the La Conner area. His Holy Grail in the classroom, he insisted in an October 2020 interview with the Weekly News, is for students to acquire a set of employable skills.

The introductory carpentry class is designed to do just that.

According to the Association for Career and Technical Education, construction is one of the top five industries for jobs that pay a median income of $55,000 and above without a bachelor’s degree.

Castillo’s job was to secure financial support for La Conner Schools from the BIAW. He nailed it on several levels, said Buher, as the building trades advocates were convinced cutting a check for La Conner represents an investment in the future residential construction workforce.

“Daniel worked hard,” Buher said, “to lay the groundwork for this course.”