MUKILTEO – The more that high schools confront dropout rates, the more popular the Work Force Development Center becomes.
The nonprofit assembly and manufacturing plant in Mukilteo has become a magnet for high school students at risk of quitting school.
It’s a lucrative deal. They earn academic credits, make money and learn job skills building parts for airplane, boat and marine manufacturers.
In return, they must stay in school, pass drug and competency tests and demonstrate work ethics.
Sometimes, it’s the difference between becoming a graduate or a dropout statistic.
Michael Brewer, 19, split time between Meadowdale High School and the assembly floor last year.
He felt a sense of belonging at the job site he never experienced at the three middle schools and three high schools he attended.
Come fall, he plans to finish high school at a community college.
“I have work experience, interview skills and a resume,” he said. “I’m a lot better off.”
The Work Force Development Center started with eight students 15 years ago, the dream of a handful of parents, teachers and community leaders wanting to help high-risk students.
Since then, it has served more than 700 students.
Typically, the center enrolls 50 to 65 students a year, but gets around 150 referrals.
“It always boils down to contract orders,” said David Trader, the center’s executive director.
A few years ago, about the time the state began calculating dropout rates differently, the development center noticed a surge in referrals.
Dropout statistics were starker than once thought. In Snohomish County, roughly 2,000 students a year leave school and the statewide rate is estimated at about a quarter of all students.
A recent limited sampling of 2002 workforce center graduates has found some success. Of 11 former students who could be contacted, 10 graduated from high school and the other one earned a General Education Development certificate. More than 80 percent had jobs and three were in college.
Along the way, students see that math, English and science really do relate to the real world.
They convert drill bit sizes from decimals to fractions, measure dimensions from blueprints and read Boeing airplane specifications. They also learn about aerodynamics and physics associated with flight.
“They finally get a real demonstration of why math is important,” said Pat Bergsman, fundraising director for the center, which relies on contract orders and donations.
The center hopes to expand and has land to do so. It’s working on a five-year plan that will include other potential enterprises for new products and training.
Robbie Belling a senior at Scriber Lake High School in Lynnwood, has changed high schools four times, falling well behind. Last year, he buckled down and began to catch up.
Dividing time between the classroom and the center helped.
It wasn’t easy, however.
He remembers looking at the first sets of designs for assembly work he would have to follow.
“I was like, What is this? I don’t know what I’m doing,’ ” he said. “Now I can pull them out, highlight them and start to work.”
“Working for an actual company makes me feel I’m doing something with my life,” he said.
Alex Ross, 18, a Monroe High School graduate, turned his school year as a student at the center into a full-time job with benefits as an instructor there.
Ross was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in middle school. He graduated from high school with a solid B average but needed to take a special English class.
The assembly work has brought him closer to his grandfather, who worked at Boeing. Ross hopes to follow in his footsteps.
“At first, there was so much we had to learn,” he said. “Looking back on it, it wasn’t that hard. I can do this.”
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
Celebrating 15 years
The Work Force Development Center will host an open house at 11 a.m. Sept. 20 to celebrate its 15 years of working with at-risk high school students.
A 3 p.m. awards ceremony will recognize the Boeing Co. for its long-term partnership.
The center is at 11215 47th Ave. W., Mukilteo.
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