Jesse Lazzarino, welding instructor at Feather River College and owner of Lazzarino Machine Works, is bringing his expertise to students at Plumas Charter School as the new coordinator of the manufacturing and metal fabrication career technical education pathway, said PCS public relations specialist Rachel Goings. The pathway is offered to high school students and includes four classes: Introduction to Welding, Welding 1, Welding 2, and Metal Fabrication.
PCS is one of the first schools on the West Coast to offer a virtual-reality training tool called AugmentedArc, said Goings. “This technology offers students real-time instruction and hands-on experience before they step inside a workshop,” said Lazzarino.
When it is time for students to leave the classroom and enter a workshop, PCS’s partnership with FRC allows the beginning welders to take some of the classes at the college campus and have access to the welding equipment there.
PCS purchased curricula from the American Welding Society in order to offer students a Welding 1 certification and industry-standard SENSE (Schools Excelling through National Skills Standards Education) certification upon completion of the program. The goal of the pathway is to align with FRC and Butte College classes so that students can enter college programs at an advanced starting point, said Goings.
The manufacturing and metal fabrication pathway is part of the grant-funded career and technical education program at PCS. In addition to this pathway, the CTE program offers nine other areas of study: agriscience; design, visual, and media arts; food service and hospitality; forestry and natural resources; hospitality, tourism, and recreation; patient care; performing arts; public safety; and software systems. The charter school utilizes the K12 Strong Workforce grant program to establish new pathways and expand existing pathways.
PCS operates learning centers in Quincy, Taylorsville, and Chester. For more information about pathways and enrollment, visit https://www.plumascharterschool.org/about_p_c_s/career_and_technical_education.
Information submitted by Plumas Charter School
