How is this North State woodshop class making a difference in the lives of its students?

Nada Atieh
Redding Record Searchlight
Edward Boontjer, a woodwork construction teacher at Enterprise High School, poses with his students on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022.

As the academic year winds down, graduating high school students sometimes experience anxiety about what comes next.

Seniors graduate knowing their options, but not always knowing their plan, said Edward Boontjer, a Career Technical Education teacher at Enterprise High School. An industrial construction contractor by trade, Boontjer managed his own business for 35 years before becoming a woodshop construction teacher at Enterprise High School.

The CTE program introduces students to job opportunities they didn’t know they had, while also giving them a realistic view of what the work will look like, Boontjer said. The program allows students to explore careers in agriculture, health science, law enforcement, business, education, construction and more.  

While managing his business, Boontjer said he often came up short staffed. He would have to do a lot of the manual work, and it took a toll on his body, he said. Meanwhile, he also mentored young men as a youth pastor and trained two men a year to become construction workers.

So when the woodshop construction instructor job at Enterprise opened five years ago, Boontjer said it seemed like it was written for him. The job was a fit for his construction skills, business knowledge and passion to mentor young men while training them to pursue higher education, he said.

Since taking the job, Boontjer has been able to train and graduate students into the trades every year, he said. They sometimes come back to talk to students about their success. The class is only available to juniors and seniors in the Shasta Union High School District, who say Boontjer is a mentor, friend, teacher, and confidant to them.

Part of the woodshop at Enterprise High School.

Hands-on learning

What do students build in the class?

“Cool stuff,” said 18-year-old Jackson Banks, a senior at Enterprise High.

Banks has been in the woodshop construction since he was a junior. He found woodworking when the pandemic started and initially just wanted to learn a new hobby.

“Now I know my passion,” he said. “I don’t like the classrooms, I like working with (my) hands and getting dirty.”

The class builds sheds and sells them when they’re done, Banks said. They also build projects for the school as needed. Once, they built a metal shed for the CTE Administration of Justice, which teaches students skills to begin a career in law enforcement, he said.

But the woodshop is open to students for personal projects as well. When they’re through with school, students spend time in the woodshop building stools, fixing chairs.

Enterprise senior Ashton Williams, 18, built a safe. And Evan Sanchez, a 17-year-old senior, builds and sells cutting boards in the woodshop.

Justin Butcher (left) and Evan Sanchez, 17-year old seniors at Enterprise High School, talk about their graduation plans on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022.

Making plans for the future

How has the class helped students make post-graduation plans?

“There’s a high demand in trades right now and that means salaries go up,” said Banks. When he graduates in June, Banks said he is going to join the NorCal Carpenters Union, which teaches carpentry and allows members to earn money while learning a trade.

Sanchez wants to join the military and learn airframe inspection and maintenance, he said. He doesn’t like the idea of college and doesn’t have an interest in it.

“I want something that transfers directly out, and taking this class is a good benefit,” he said.

Prabhjot Kaur, a senior who is moving to Sacramento after graduating to pursue a career in respiratory therapy and nursing, said she joined the construction class instead of respiratory therapy because it feels like the best program at the school.

It’s a useful skill to be able to build, she said; but more than that, Boontjer has taught her how to use the tools and been a mentor to her. 

“We talk about real life stuff. Family life comes up. Hobbies and what they (students) like,” Boontjer said.

Pointing to Ashton Maszk, Boontjer said the high school senior started his own business and is doing well.

Maszk works at a carwash and believes he can do better for himself. Boontjer taught him how he could start a business and expand services. In addition to his job, he details cars and mobile homes, sometimes charging more than $100 an hour, Maszk said.

“When it started, it was just family and friends and (it) took a while to buy the $2,500 worth of supplies,” he said.

'I give them relief'

This class is useful for more than just a career, it’s useful in day-to-day life, said Evan Haker, a 17-year-old senior at Shasta High School who commutes to Enterprise for for the class.

”I would actually put that in the notes for this class. Just yesterday we had someone come talk to the class and tell us about laying tile works.

"This class talks about military, trades, college. I enjoy this class and there’s so much we can do,” Haker said.

Boontjer said he spends time speaking to each one of his 25 students individually and discussing what they’re going to do after high school.

“You get a lot of kids who come to my class and do not want to graduate because there’s anxiety there. When they come to my classes I give them relief; you don’t have to go to college to make a lot of money,” he said.

Ashton Williams, an 18-year-old senior at Enterprise High School, takes a break from building a shed on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022.

One of his students who graduated in 2018 is making about $100,000 a year as a tile setter, he said.

“He was just done with school. He’s studying to get his contractor’s license,” he said.

Ashton Williams built a shed this year. He said he was motivated by the support he received from his teacher.

“If you know a lot about this, he’ll take you far, and if you don’t, he’ll help you,” he said.

After graduation, Williams is interested in working for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

“I love being able to come out and learn with these guys,” he said.

Nada Atieh is a Report For America corps member and education reporter focusing on childhood trauma and the achievement gap for the Redding Record Searchlight. Follow her on Twitter at @nadatieh_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today! And if you are able, please consider a tax-deductible gift toward her work.