ABERDEEN, S.D. – Aberdeen Central’s new greenhouse has been very beneficial for ag courses at ATEC Academy—and the greenhouse wouldn’t be possible without the work of CHS students.
“They had to put over 100 bags of dirt in each one of these, so that's 600 bags of soil, and they set up all the storage,” said ATEC Ag Teacher Maleri McCloud. “I really let it be student-led.”
CHS senior Bryce Beitelspacher is overseeing the flowers planted in the greenhouse in preparation of a potential plant sale this spring.
“He has been out here every day getting the dirt ready, planting them, organizing them,” McCloud said.
Beitelspacher said he’s taken over 10 classes in the ATEC building. Along with ag courses, he’s also taken automotive and welding classes.
“It’s more like real life stuff,” he said. “It’s not like book learning. There’s a lot of stuff you can’t learn without being hands-on.”
Hands-on learning is a big part of all the career and technical education classes taught in the ATEC building. McCloud’s classes include animal science, companion animal, food science, horticulture and advanced animal science.
While ag courses provide students with industry-related content, McCloud said the classes also focus on soft skills.
“Just essentially creating that base of employable people that can be trustworthy, can be honest, can show up on time,” she explained.
Those types of skills are part of the benefit of CTE courses.
“CTE courses give them life skills, and through those hands-on learning experiences, you're picking up on more than just being able to complete tasks,” McCloud said. “You're learning hard work, you're learning to work with others, you're learning to get redirected while working on things.”
Community partnerships are also important for ATEC courses. McCloud’s classes bring in guest speakers and take trips to places in the community. That includes Caleb's Aquatics, which is owned by CHS graduate Caleb Hubert. Students have also visited hatcheries and heard from speakers including a game warden, and a disabled veteran with a seeing eye dog.
“The community really gives a lot of support in that way,” McCloud said.
Aberdeen’s RDO Equipment has supported ATEC in many ways, including through internships. RDO usually has two or more interns a year, said Nick Kallhoff, RDO Aftermarket Manager.
“The internship program gives students an opportunity to spend some real-life time in the environment of a shop and helps them understand if that’s something they want to do long-term,” Kallhoff said.
RDO also brings students in every year to help with an event for kids called Day of Play.
“They’ll help us educate the younger kids on ag,” he said.
The company supports students financially through college tuition reimbursement programs like the Build Dakota Scholarship. RDO has also brought in students in ATEC’s diesel class for a presentation and tour of the store.
To learn more about CTE courses at Aberdeen Central High School, visit the ATEC Academy webpage.
About the Aberdeen Public School District
The Aberdeen Public School District provides a comprehensive educational program to approximately 4,200 students in grades K-12, with a mission of empowering all students to succeed in a changing world. Our students receive the knowledge and skills necessary to reach their potential in a global community through high expectations of academic achievement; diverse educational opportunities; and community involvement in a safe, supportive environment. Learn more at aberdeen.k12.sd.us.