Running on all cylinders at Natomas High.
Shifting education into high gear.
Tuning up for college and career.
No matter how you say it, one thing is clear: Natomas High’s Transportation Pathway is piston-powered and pedal to the metal – hands-on learning with power tools, not just books.
Teacher Ben Burkhard’s goal is to prepare students for college and career by getting their hands dirty while teaching them the basics of engine maintenance and repair, including using tools, safety rules, and service information.
“My main goal is to get them interested,” Burkhard said. “If the interest is there, the learning will follow.”
Two of Burkhard’s students recently won scholarships to Universal Technical Institute by capturing fifth place in UTI’s Diesel Tech Challenge. Twelve West Coast high school teams squared off in a rigorous test of big-rig mechanical skills, which included two written exams and hands-on challenges involving electrical systems, hydraulics, and preventive maintenance.
Burkhard is a veteran car, truck, and airplane mechanic who teaches his Nighthawk students to repair various kinds of engines – from lawnmower to compact car to big-rig – and to use a wide variety of tools, including wrenches, ratchets, air tools, hammers, screwdrivers, and computer analysis equipment.
Natomas High’s Transportation Pathway is one of NUSD’s Career Technical Education options, which include Engineering, Health, and Digital Media at Natomas High, Hospitality at Discovery High, Broadcast Media at Inderkum High, and Business/Entrepreneurship and Visual Arts/Technology at Leroy Greene Academy.
The goal of Career Technical Education is to supplement – not replace – college preparation by teaching hands-on skills that students can use for many years to come, regardless whether they choose careers in that field. Students in the Transportation Pathway take core academic classes as well, including English, History, Science and Math.
After completing the two-year Transportation Pathway, Nighthawk students have the foundational skills necessary to secure an entry-level job as an auto mechanic or to continue expanding and mastering those skills at a college or trade school. The class emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration, tackling projects as teams.
Topics covered in Burkhard’s two-year pathway include engine operation, electrical systems, fuel injection, computer systems, and brake and engine repair. Beginning students take the class one hour a day, while advanced students take it two hours a day. Some students work on project during their lunch hour as well, Burkhard said.
“It’s a skill you don’t necessarily get in any other class,” Burkhard said of engine repair. “I think it works a different part of the brain. It takes what you’re learning in math and science, then uses it in a practical application.”
Students who don’t choose careers in the automotive field can benefit from skills learned in the Transportation Pathway by saving money by repairing their own cars in years to come: tune-ups, oil changes, tire balancing, fixing brakes, repairing water pumps or gaskets, changing sensors, diagnosing problems. Some students can replace timing belts as well, which can cost hundreds of dollars at a repair shop, Burkhard said.
Sergio, 17, said that learning to use tools is vital for many household projects and repairs that have nothing to do with car engines. “If you’re changing the door at your house, if you’re changing your toilet, if you’re changing anything you use tools, so it’s not just an auto class. It shows you how to use tools, then you can use them in your every-day life.”
Lorenza, 17, said she plans a career as a chef or cook, but she enrolled in the Transportation Pathway “so I can learn more about cars and work on my own car — I don’t have to rely on anybody else. … I don’t have to spend so much money taking it to the shop.”
Binay, 18, said he loves cars and the class is fun, its students get along, and the skills learned can lead directly to jobs. “They’re looking for a lot of people (in the automotive field) and you can make good money off it,” he said.
