Woodshop, formerly a school staple, making a comeback
NEW YORK -- A program that used to be a staple in schools across the country is making a comeback.
CBS2's John Elliott took a trip to to PS 130 in Queens to check out the return of woodshop, talking to students and teachers.
"We need, as humans, opportunities to work with our hands together, And this engages students, all students, and especially the hard to reach students, in ways that working on tablets or worksheets never achieves," said Michael Schloff of Maplewoodshop. Read more.
Reach Cyber partners with carpenters' union to offer online carpentry program
In recent years, school districts have made a stronger push to gauge student interest in trade careers, extolling the virtues of the region’s technical schools and the wide-open job market for skilled laborers.
In Pennsylvania, one cyber charter school is looking to add some of those elements to its curriculum.
Harrisburg-based Reach Cyber Charter School, which serves students across the state, has partnered with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and New Jersey-based Maplewoodshop to create a carpentry career-track program that will be available to students beginning in January.
37 predictions about edtech’s impact in 2023
We’re seeing the pendulum swinging back to reintroducing career and technical exploration (CTE) in middle schools. While students are suffering from learning loss due to COVID, their parents see record level student debt, a growing shortage of skilled workers, and a 20% graduation rate when comparing all 9th graders to those who graduate from a 4-year college.
Wishes and Worries for 2023: What Ed Tech Leaders Are Thinking About
During the final weeks of 2022, THE Journal asked scores of ed tech leaders about their wishes and worries for 2023. Cybersecurity and teacher resources were the most common topics addressed in the responses — many of which include specific ideas for new policies and practices for K–12 education in the United States. Following are the two questions we posed and the responses
District partners with Maplewoodshop and Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Funds to introduce students to woodworking and to offer apprenticeship opportunities
(East Orange, N.J.) September 27, 2022 – Carteret Public Schools in New Jersey understands the importance of introducing students to career opportunities. In order to provide different types of learning, the district partnered with Maplewoodshop, a leader in teaching woodworking to students, and the Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Funds, to introduce carpentry to students at Carteret High School. Read More
Ep 134: Career education programs in K-12 schools with JD Smith of Reach Cyber Charter School,
This week, Ryan sits with JD Smith, the Director of Career Readiness at the Reach Cyber Charter School in Pennsylvania. On this episode, JD talks about the work that he does at Reach Cyber Charter School and the school’s career education curriculum. JD also talks about the importance of community partnerships in developing career education programs and shares advice for other online schools who want to provide career education options for their students. Tune in!
18 back-to-school tips to start the year off right, August 19, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to cast uncertainty on education, and the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year is no different. But with some valuable lessons learned under their belts, educators are feeling better prepared for the back-to-school season–one that could be the most normal since the pandemic.
Here are some back-to-school tips, advice, and valuable insights from educators, stakeholders, and industry experts.
For Immediate Release:
Maplewoodshop Partners with the Northeast Carpenters Apprenticeship Fund
to Introduce Middle School Students to the Trades
Partnership to utilize Career Connections curriculum to grow the pipeline for high school CTE programs
(East Orange, N.J.) July 26, 2022 – Maplewoodshop, a leader in teaching woodworking to elementary and middle school students, announced its partnership with the Northeast Carpenters Apprenticeship Fund (NCAF), one of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters’ Training Funds, to help increase the number of high school students in CTE programs throughout the Northeast. With this partnership, schools that work with Maplewoodshop will now also have the opportunity to utilize the Carpenters International Training Fund (CITF) Career Connections curriculum from NCAF.
“We’ve worked together with dozens of schools to offer hand tool versions of CITF Career Connections projects,” said Mike Schloff, CEO of Maplewoodshop. “Growing this partnership is very exciting as it will allow us to introduce the trades to more students and expand potential apprenticeship opportunities.”
The Maplewoodshop program, now in more than 120 locations nationwide, trains non-CTE educators to teach woodworking with hand tools via digital and live teacher training, curriculum, and ongoing support. Maplewoodshop also provides hand-powered tools, proprietary workbenches, and a purpose- built tool chest to enable any classroom to become a woodshop.
“I am very excited by the fact that we are reaching down to the middle schools to open pathways to high pay, high skill, and high demand careers,” said Tom Sommers, Director of Outreach and Development for the Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Funds. “And, along the way, we can create opportunities to engage in work-based learning programs, potential apprenticeships, and lifelong learning. Students can even earn up to 34 college credits while taking the NCAF apprenticeship with Thomas Edison University. We are excited to show young students all the potential opportunities they can have.”
NCAF is committed to training the most highly-skilled and efficient workforce necessary to remain competitive in today’s construction market. The organization believes that training and training alone will determine the degree of employability for its members.
Maplewoodshop’s partners, including NCAF, make it possible to continue to build confidence, creativity, and community in all children through woodworking. To learn more about Maplewoodshop’s partners, visit www.maplewoodshop.com/partners.
About Maplewoodshop
Maplewoodshop is a leader in teaching woodworking to elementary and middle school students. The company works to share the powerful benefits of woodworking with educators and children to build critical life skills through its collaborative and adaptive woodworking curriculum utilizing hand tools. Since launching in 2016, Maplewoodshop has partnered with more than 120 schools and camps. For more information about the company and its programs, visit www.maplewoodshop.com.
###
Lauretta Dag-Sosu, Maplewoodshop
(908) 477-8602
lauretta@maplewoodshop.com
Margaret Heck, Public Relations for Maplewoodshop
(410) 975-9638
margaret@kehcomm.com
Educators Name Best Products and Services that Meet the Evolving Needs of STEM Teaching and Learning
BEAVERTON, Ore., July 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As educators face a new generation of technology needs for teaching and learning STEM, science, and coding, companies are rising to the challenge by deeply understanding educators’ evolving needs. The 2022 Best of STEM Award provides EdTech companies with a fresh twist—an awards program judged by STEM educators for STEM educators: “The Educators Pick Best of STEM Awards.”
NCLA Podcast
Introducing Opportunity with CTE in Middle School, April 14, 2022
As many college-age students will explain, when they reach their later years of high school, teachers, advisors, and counselors begin introducing them to possible career paths. This type of preparation serves as an introduction to the typical four-year college experience, which seems to be the mainstream expectation for planning after high school.
COLLABORATION BRINGS WOODWORKING TO STEM TEACHERS, DECEMBER 10, 2021
The Applied Engineering, Safety & Technology department at Millersville is collaborating with Maplewoodshop over the next five years to help Millersville students incorporate woodworking into their future grade school classrooms.
REACH CYBER CHARTER SCHOOL
REACH CYBER CHARTER SCHOOL EXPANDS CAREER DEVELOPMENT OFFERINGS WITH NEW CARPENTRY PROGRAM
HARRISBURG, Pa. (Nov. 15, 2021) – Reach Cyber Charter School’s Career Pathways program, which connects high school students to career opportunities in various fields through a robust certification and badging program, announces a new carpentry track, expanding career exploration options for high school students throughout Pennsylvania. Read more here.
NATIONAL MAGAZINES
FINE HOMEBUILDING ISSUE 280, JANUARY, 2019
He’s not turning the lights back on in shop classes; he’s bringing woodworking directly into classrooms and providing teachers with everything they need to align woodworking with existing curriculum. Read more here.
LOCAL NEWS
NEW JERSEY JEWISH NEWS, APRIL 10, 2019
Last summer, children at JCC Camp Deeny Riback (CDR) got to try their hand at woodworking, thanks to … Maplewoodshop. It was a big hit, according to CDR’s executive director Dana Gottfried, who said it was like “nothing they’ve ever done before.” Read more
PODCASTS
FINE WOODWORKING: SHOP TALK LIVE
A few weeks ago Mike came into the podcast studio where he and I discussed his program, and more importantly, how you can help get a woodworking into your favorite little one’s school or camp program. We were going to include an excerpt in episode 169, but in the end, we decided that The Maplewoodshop deserved your full undivided attention.
See if Mike is the liar or the expert on
PANTS ON FIRE...also known as HAMMER TIME when our contestant tries to HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD and find our LIAR. Instead of BORING you with details, tune in this week for our #WOODWORKING episode! #POF
On this episode, I talk with Mike from Maplewoodshop. I recently took a course with Mike to learn how to use hand tools in woodworking and more about this great venture to bring woodworking back to the forefront of lifelong learning. This was a great conversation with Mike and he shared some awesome resources to check out!
AWARDS
Maplewoodshop has been named a finalist in the Excellence in Equity Awards in the Best Career Readiness Solution category.
Maplewoodshop has been named the winner in the category of “Bridging the Gap: Summer Programs” for the 2022 Educators Pick Best of STEM!
MAKE MAGAZINE Awarded Maplewoodshop 4 Awards at the 2017 World Maker Faire in NYC.
ARTICLES
March 15, 2018
Mr. Schloff outlined the benefits of the program and posed a question to the board as to whether they remember a woodworking project they made while in school, versus if they remember a paper they had written that same year. There were multiple calls of yes and smiles when asked to recall a woodworking project, but not so many to the papers.
- The Coast Star
“Want to get your kids away from their electronic screens?
Heck, want to get yourself away from your electronic screens?
Maplewoodshop may be just the ticket.”
January 2017, The Village Green Read Full Article