Neil Cade (left) helping prepare welding students for their certifications on a Saturday.
Talk to any long-time Brighton resident, and one topic is likely to come up again and again: growth. In a span of twenty-two years, 27J went from serving only 5,000 students in the city of Brighton to over 22,000 students in the cities of Brighton, Commerce City, and Thornton, Co.
Neil Cade, 27J alum, experienced these changes as a student at Southeast Elementary School, Vikan Middle School, and Brighton High School and is now experiencing them as an involved community member. One thing that has not kept pace over this time is 27J’s funding situation.
“As a community, we are being asked to step up and invest in teachers that will train, help, and guide the next generation of students who will live in, work in, and give back to this community,” said Neil Cade.
27J’s funding from mill levy overrides has not increased since 2000, but the need has continued to grow. Because voters have not approved a mill levy override in over two decades, 27J has become the third lowest funded district in the state and the lowest funded per student in the Denver metro area. Funding from a mill levy override is used to increase staffing and educational programs and services for students.
Such programming includes Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs like welding, a program Neil Cade has been connected to for decades.
In 2002, Neil’s father, Jim Cade, started working at Brighton High School as a welding instructor. When Prairie View High School’s welding shop was built in 2006, Jim went to start a welding program there. There were no qualified teachers to fill his position at Brighton High, so the program was discontinued at this school.
Today, Prairie View High School is faced with a similar situation. This fall, Jim Cade came back to teach and restart the welding program at Brighton High School. Prairie View High School had to find a new instructor to keep the program open, but the instructor is currently unable to provide students with the preparation needed to prepare them for their certifications. Students from Prairie View High School must travel to Brighton on weekends if they want to test and receive their welding certifications.
Certifications = A foot in the door
Since graduating from 27J, Neil Cade has been supporting Jim Cade and his students, because he understands what receiving a welding certification before graduating from high school means for students and their futures.
“A certification would have gotten me a better foot in the door when entering the workforce after high school,” said Neil. “Instead, I had to learn the harder way and didn’t have the practice that these welding students are receiving. These students are leaving high school with certifications that prove they know how to weld, which starts them off at high-paying jobs right after graduating.”
Although Neil and Jim Cade are doing great work, the welding program is impacted daily by the district’s chronically underfunded school system. There are long waitlists to get into the welding programs in the district, and 27J cannot offer pay that is competitive enough to recruit qualified welding instructors with the experience necessary to make certifications possible for students.
Furthermore, the budget allocated to STEM/CTE programs in the district is simply not enough to provide students with the hands-on learning needed for these technical skills. If it weren’t for Neil’s help and Jim’s industry connections, students would not receive the preparation they need to test and receive their welding certifications.
Volunteering to build careers
Over the years, Neil has been coming in as a volunteer after-school and on weekends to lend students his experience as someone who has been working in the trades industry for over nine years. He’s also taught night classes through Front Range Community College at Prairie View High School for 27J students, recent graduates, and other members of the community interested in obtaining welding certifications.
“As a society, we’re often told that we have to go to college in order to be successful when there is a national job shortage in trade industries like welding, construction, and agriculture,” said Neil.
Students like senior Ian Monk want classes that will help them meet their goals. “Not everyone likes writing papers, and the CTE programs give us a chance to truly become invested in school,” he said. “I’m able to get out of my comfort zone and gain relevant experience that will help me go into this industry right after high school.”
Neil Cade sees firsthand the investment 27J has made in addressing this shortage and broadening students’ horizons. “Through 27J’s CTE programs, students are exposed early on to the opportunities in trades available to them and can start to build a career with minimal experience.”
Last November, voters in 27J approved a bond issue that will pay for a new STEM/CTE center in each comprehensive high school. However, voters did not approve a mill levy override, which would pay for the staff and programs in these new buildings.
“The [mill and bond] go hand in hand,” said Neil Cade. “As a community, we are being asked to step up and invest in teachers that will train, help, and guide the next generation of students who will live in, work in, and give back to this community.”
Neil and Jim Cade’s commitment to welding students is making an impact on who they go on to become. Students will remember their names because what they do matters. Teachers matter.
