Welding Supplies Key to Student Retention

What does literacy work have to do with welding supplies?  Everything!

A very special thank you to Newell Rubbermaid for their donation of welding supplies to Navajo Pine High School in Navajo, New Mexico.

Shop class is the only elective the school currently has, having lost art class at the end of last year, and it is one of the keys to keeping students engaged and coming to school.

We are pleased to have facilitated this donation, as shop class directly impacts literacy not only through improving school attendance and retention, but because it engages students in problem solving, math, reading and creative design.

The high school is located 50 miles northwest of Gallup, New Mexico on the Navajo Nation. The town has a population of 2,000 with few jobs in the area. A sawmill that was the town’s major employer closed a decade ago and stands abandoned and covered with gang graffiti. 

Thanks to the dedication of Voc-Ed teacher Bob Carrick, his class teaches employable skills including auto mechanics, CAD drawing, woodworking and welding that have enabled graduates to get jobs in other areas.

“I would like to thank everyone at Reader to Reader and Newell Rubbermaid for sending the welding tools as we desperately needed them,” said Bob Carrick. “Our students are already putting them to good use. From my students and myself we offer a big thank you.”