When Ben Lomond’s Frank Wyllie stopped to talk to the Regional Occupation Program construction and engineering classes at San Lorenzo Valley High School this month, a page of history opened up.
Wyllie, 95, taught the construction class at SLV High School for five years a few decades ago. In the 1978-79 school year, his students built a classroom on campus that stands strong today.
“I think this is the best-built building on your campus, because of the fact you have such a heavy roof structure,” Wyllie said of the 2-inch-by-10-inch wooden tresses that make up the roof.
Originally the SLV photography classroom, it serves today as the video production room, with Apple computers lining the walls. Wyllie and longtime construction teacher Mark Cravelli think it is the only classroom in California that was built by students.
“They used hand tools. That’s pretty impressive,” said construction and engineering teacher Dave Grant. “I don’t know if students today would have the patience to do that.”
Power tools are the norm in today’s world, but the tradition of learning by doing continues at the high school, where overflowing ROP construction and engineering classes continue to be among the most popular on campus.
“It was cool to see that it’s been going on for 30 years,” junior Scott Overton said of Wyllie’s visit.
Grant is in his third year teaching the construction program, which he took over from Cravelli when he retired after more than 30 years.
At the moment, Grant has the engineering class building trebuchets, an advanced form of the medieval catapult.
“It’s a combination of learning the building trades, but also applying math and science to it,” Grant said. “We could sit in a science class and talk about it, but we get to talk about the science side of it and the construction side of it and then apply it.”
Grant, an SLV graduate himself, learned the importance of hands-on work as he took jobs in high school and college that had him building houses, logging trees and using heavy equipment.
The school’s year-long engineering and construction classes are full, with 28 students apiece, and Grant had to turn away several students who wanted to join.
“It’s turned into a unique learning experience here,” Grant said. “There are only a few schools in the county that have hands-on construction.”
Grant’s salary is paid by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, and much of the wood, tools and supplies the class uses are bought with proceeds from the students’ handiwork.
The construction class builds 4-by-8-foot and 8-by-8-foot sheds it sells to folks in the community for $700 each and wooden benches that go for $75.
“As long as we keep selling sheds, money is not an issue,” Grant said.
Grant said he is grateful to Scarborough Lumber for donations of low-cost wood and tools, however.
The class can give students a leg up as they compete for college admissions, he said
“You need a track record,” Grant said. “I hope this gives kids an edge: Not only do I want to be an engineer, but I have the track record (as an engineer).”
Or, if students want to go straight into a trade, they have the experience.
“We’re a blue-collar community,” Grant said. “I want to get these guys engaged in tools and technology so they can do things themselves.
“I tell people, ‘Don’t rely on other people when you are totally capable. You just have to learn it.’”
For information: Dave Grant,
dg****@sl****.org
or 335-4425.
