Constructing a new kind of summer camp at New Town High School

While their friends were busy swimming or playing sports or exploring arts and crafts at summer camps across the region, eight Baltimore County Public Schools students experienced a new and unusual kind of summer camp recently -- one that may end up boosting their career aspirations.

Called “Construction Camp,” the first-year, weeklong program at New Town High School introduced campers to one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing industries and gave them skills needed for good jobs in the construction business. The camp was sponsored by the Community College of Baltimore County. Construction employs more than 7.7 million people in the United States, and projections are that the industry will need an additional 185,000 new workers each year for the next decade.

Students at Construction Camp show the loop they built

Under the supervision of New Town High technology education teacher Joe Gilbert and mathematics teacher Tracey Dowling, the middle-school-aged campers learned to cut and thread pipe, solder materials together, and perform a variety of other construction techniques. Each of the students also was required to create a industrial-grade “loop” made of black pipe, elbow joint pipes, tees and a union joint. The loops were tested at 60 psi (pounds per square inch) to confirm there were no leaks and all of the students passed.

“We’ve had a lot of fun and learned a lot,” he said at the conclusion of the camp, which ran from June 22 to June 26. “There appears to be a lot of interest in this kind of a camp among students in the community, and we’re hopeful we can offer it next year as well.”

At Construction Camp, the students engaged in hands-on projects and met and talked with professionals in the field. Campers learned that construction isn’t all work site skills, either; many two- and four-year colleges offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in construction-related professions such as architecture, construction law, engineering, and construction management.

The camp also gave the students a sneak peek at the activities and curriculum offered in the Construction Management I and II classes offered at the high school level in Baltimore County. Students enrolled in the Construction Management program acquire skills and practical experience to be successful in a construction career with a major focus on the management side of the industry. According to Gilbert, the school program offers advanced placement in the ABC apprenticeship program.

With all the opportunities opened to them through their participation, it’s a good bet that campers will look back on the summer of 2009 as one constructive experience.

Story by Tracey Dowling, mathematics teacher at New Town High School, and Charles Herndon, BCPS communications specialist. Photos courtesy of Tracey Dowling and Joe Gilbert.

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