On Wednesday, July 15, 2015, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Reggie Newson visited Precision Plus of Elkhorn to learn about the company’s Youth Apprenticeship and Summer Internship Programs and tour the facility.
Governor Scott Walker appointed Secretary Newson to office in October of 2011. He leads the state agency and is charged with “building and strengthening Wisconsin’s workforce.”
Earlier in the year, while touring Elkhorn Area High School, Secretary Newson had heard about Precision Plus’ programs from Kyle Gorst—a youth apprentice. That conversation peaked his interest to the point of scheduling a visit to Precision Plus He sought to find out, firsthand, about the programs and the apprentice/intern experience.
[pb_slideshow group=”19″]
Fifteen out of the current sixteen Precision Plus summer interns greeted the secretary and led him on a guided tour of the facility. Later in the tour, he held a town hall meeting with fourteen of the interns to hear their stories of how they came to be with the company, and talk about their career intentions after graduation from college.
Secretary Newson also explained the role of his agency, key in connecting employers and skilled workers, and the efforts DWD undertakes to assist job seekers with disabilities, while overseeing Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance, Equal Rights and Worker’s Compensation programs.
Precision Plus welcomes local, state and federal legislators to visit its facility and to learn about the initiatives in place at the company to increase awareness of 21st century manufacturing.
For more information, please contact Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training via phone or email.
This is a reprint of an article authored by Susan Pohorski, which first appeared on Wisconsin Technical College System’s website.
How to keep students awake in class
By Susan Pohorski
It’s an age-old problem that has challenged teachers forever. How do you keep students awake and engaged in a classroom setting?
Several Elkhorn High School students took on this problem as the capstone project for their Engineering Design Development class. The students conducted research, designed prototype products and tested the products until they felt they had a viable answer.Their product is a pen that vibrates when the user has been inactive for a certain time period. Nod off and your pen will wake you.
A new way of teaching and learning Hundreds of Wisconsin high schools and middle schools from Appleton to Winneconne are using an activity, project, and problem-based curriculum developed by Project Lead the Way (PLTW) to help students develop skills they need for success in post-secondary education and beyond. As a result, students rarely fall a sleep during class.
Since 2009, Elkhorn Area School District (EASD) has implemented PLTW curriculum throughout all levels to teach science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Courses cover biomedical science, computer science and engineering concepts. EASD is one of only two districts in the country where every student has access to PLTW curriculum.
“PLTW courses are very engaging and reach students with different learning styles,” commented Jason Tadlock, superintendent of the EASD. “Kids see the relevance of math and science in real life.”
Second grade students engineer a device for planting seeds. Fourth graders create vehicles and put them through crash testing. In fifth grade, the students learn to build and operate robots.
“We hear consistent feedback from employers who look for PLTW students because of their academic and teamwork skills,” Tadlock added.
Business partners with schools The district also has a unique partnership with a major employer in the area. In 2012 Precision Plus invited 24 area educators to tour their facilities to discuss the career possibilities available for high school graduates. The school district also hosts an annual Manufacturing Career Panel discussion for students sponsored by Precision Plus Representatives of Elkhorn area employers discuss the state of industry and the possibilities manufacturing offers. This year Mike Reader, president of Precision Plus, moderated the discussion.
Students who toured local manufacturing facilities asked if they could have internships with the companies.
“We had 10 student interns the first year,” said Barry Butters, director of education and training for Precision Plus, who was hired to coordinate and grow the program. He teaches some of the PLTW engineering courses, including the one mentioned above.
“Mike Reader is a true visionary,” Butters explained. “He saw the need to develop a talent pipeline and engage the schools.”
With the partnership of Precision Plus and a grant from the Kern Foundation, teachers from the Elkhorn Area School District attended PLTW training.
Work skills, life skills “Project Lead the Way makes better thinkers and problem solvers,” Butters adds. “When young students understand they can make things and solve problems, they will go far in life.”Chris Trottier, principal of Elkhorn High School enthusiastically supports the new style of learning for his students.“Kids develop skills to enter the workforce,” he said. “Like problem solving and critical thinking.”Tadlock points out that students in these classes learn to take risks and learn from their mistakes. “Kids come out ahead when they can overcome trials. That skill carries over into the world of work,” he continued.Does your school use project-, activity- and problem-based curriculum? Employers want job candidates who are thinkers and problem solvers.“Challenge businesses to get involved,” Butters urged parents. “Schools cannot do it alone with the fiscal constraints they are under.”
Precision Plus in Elkhorn, WI plans to install a 99kW solar array, with a completion date of early August, 2015.
The solar array is estimated to generate the equivalent of 6.5% of the facility’s annual energy demand. The ballasted roof mount, fixed-tilt array will comprise of 360 SolarWorld SW 285 Monocrystalline panels, 180 Solar Edge P600 DC Power Optimizers, and 5 Solar Edge SE 20KUS, 3 phase, 480 Vac inverters. In its first year, the array is projected to produce more than 131,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
The installation of the solar array at Precision Plus’ manufacturing facility marks the latest step in the company’s sustainability initiatives to support the use of renewable energy. “We have long embraced ‘green’ practices,” comments Mike Reader, the company’s president, “and look forward to adding the solar array to continue to maximize our commitment to preserving our environment.”
Precision Plus partnered with Kettle View Renewable Energy on this project, a leading wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) installation and maintenance provider from Random Lake, Wisconsin. A key to the project’s success is a state award that will fund 23% of the project costs. Kettle View Renewable Energy assisted in the grant writing process and provided engineering, procurement and construction services for the project. Permitting and interconnection applications have been submitted, and work is scheduled to begin in early July.
This season has been busy and great for the Avant Cycling Race Team, who is participating in many competitions throughout the State of Wisconsin, such as the Wisconsin Cycling Association (WCA) Conference, the Wisconsin State Criterium, and their upcoming challenge, the Tour of America’s Dairyland, which runs from June 18th through June 28th. The tour features races in East Troy, Elkhart Lake, Neenah, and others, finishing in the Milwaukee area with the East Tosa Gran Prix. A true “gran finale” to an exceptional cycling event.
Successful outcomes have become a staple of the team: As of June 12, 2015, the Avant Cycling Race Team, had 9 wins and 12 podiums.
Alex Hutson has been a teacher in the Elkhorn Area School District in Wisconsin. “This is my fifteenth year teaching in Elkhorn and I have enjoyed being in Elkhorn very much. My wife and I live here in town and we have three of our own kids in the Elkhorn schools,” he states.
Mr. Hutson, as he is known to his students, is also a science and technology buff, always learning something new and putting that knowledge into practice. Personally, he likes to sail and build with LEGO bricks. At school, he is involved in the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Launch Curriculum for elementary school children and is an adviser for the Elkhorn Technology and Engineering Club (E-TEC) which has groups both in the middle school and high school. He leads the Automation and Robotics Class, which currently focuses on robotics, but is looking to expand into computers and general electronics.
On April 22, 2015, he accompanied three outstanding 6th grade students from Elkhorn Area Middle School–Wendy Remeeus, Gwen Nicholas and Lesly Rodriguez–to receive a special commendation from Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. On their way back to the school, he and the students made a special stop at Precision Plus to go through a tour of the facility.
This is what happened:
[pb_slideshow group=”18″]
Precision Plus welcomes students and teachers to tour our facility. To schedule a tour, please contact Barry Butters via email or by phone.
When things feel as they might be falling apart, they may just be falling into place. Second chances are given out all the time…but they only work when someone takes them.
John Espinoza works as a finishing technician for Precision Plus His shift starts at 11:00 p.m. and ends at 7:30 a.m., just in time to take his young granddaughter Melanie to school. Melanie is a bright kindergartener with aspirations of becoming a doctor when she grows up.
On Monday mornings, after he drops Melanie off, John stays at the school for a couple of hours just to read one-on-one with every kid in Melanie’s class. “I like to read, so it gives me a real kick to experience the kids’ progress from just learning the letters, to reading entire stories—even with the appropriate inflections,” as they bring the stories to life. He credits the class teacher, Mrs. Autumn Petri, who “makes learning so much fun!” He adds, “ The children adore her!” But the children also really look forward to reading with John, whom they have nicknamed “Mr. Noodle,” after the beloved Sesame Street character. On Thursdays, he goes back to volunteer as a lunch parent.
There is nothing that gives John more satisfaction than to be involved in all aspects of Melanie’s life and to be a part of her formative years. Melanie is a busy girl, playing with the “Little Sis” Basketball Team, and with “The Varsity Deli” T-Ball Team, which John also happens to coach. She also attends children’s programs at Mt. Zion Christian Church and has plenty of time to play computer educational games, watch cartoons, and just play, like all kindergarteners should.
John and his wife Alicia are raising Melanie as their own daughter. When Melanie was a baby, her mother (one of John’s two daughters) left to never come back. John and Alicia are Melanie’s legal guardians, and are committed to be there for her every step of the way. John even takes parenting classes at his church.
But things may not have turned out this way, if John didn’t opt for taking a second chance.
Roll back the clock some years. John Espinoza, a third generation Texan of Mexican descent, grew up in mainstream North Dakota. His life was riddled with bad decisions, which put not only his own life in jeopardy, but also those of his first wife and their two young girls. “I was hard on my family,” he recalls. His life fell apart when his wife died. He continued to get involved in situations that eventually led him to spend time in jail.
It was while in jail, that John’s life made a sharp turn for the better. Through the turmoil, he found peace and endurance in the teachings from the Bible.
Fresh out of jail, John needed to find a job to support his family. He had worked as a CNC set up operator before, but now, time and time again his applications were rejected because of his dealings with the law…until he applied to work at Precision Plus, 13 years ago. He explained his situation to Mike Reader, and reassured Mike about the commitment he was willing to make to the company. He asked for a chance, and Mike, willingly, gave it to John. His career at Precision Plus, began as a tumbler.
“Mike was patient and through the years, he has helped to make my quality of life better. Mike makes a personal investment in his people,” adds John, “It goes beyond of just being an employee.”
When John was given a chance to raise his granddaughter, he knew that it was most important to be there for her and to be involved with her, so that Melanie would be better prepared to make the right decisions. “By allowing me to have night hours, Mike gave me the opportunity to spend the time I need to be with Melanie in her upbringing.”
Faith has been paramount in John’s life. But he not only leans on his faith for the second chances he has been given, he also gives back in more than one way. For the last 9 years, John has been preaching at local jails, hoping to impart the gift of a second chance he received once long ago. He also helps nurture a Hispanic group that recently joined Mt. Zion Christian Church.
When things feel as they might be falling apart, they may just be falling into place. Second chances are there for the taking.
Precision Plus is proud to have John Espinoza in its team.
On May 15, 2015, Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training, representing Precision Plus of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, visited three 4th grade classes at Tibbits Elementary School in the Elkhorn Area School District. Earlier in the year, Butters visited second and third graders to create excitement about manufacturing…or making things from scratch, as the school had recently embarked in Project Lead The Way’s (PLTW) Launch Program for young elementary school students.
However, being with the 4th graders allowed Butters to take the excitement to the next level. “This allowed me to use the Inventor software to probe the students understanding of two dimensional shapes and what happens when the shapes are extruded to a third dimension,” he said, “as when a circle extruded becomes a cylinder.”
Following the presentation, students were able to pick up and explore some of the parts made by Precision Plus, with a better understanding of the process from beginning to end.
Precision Plus thanks the Tibbits Elementary School students and their teachers for their time and attention, and shares their kind thank you notes.
Following the recent announcement of Precision Plus’ $50,000 contribution to Gateway Technical College Elkhorn Campus’s Manufacturing Center, news media articles appeared on several publications, including the Kenosha News on May 18, 2015, as well as the PMPA’s Weekly Reports Newsletter dated May 21st.
James Lawson, author of the article on the Kenosha News, explains that the development of the new $1.25 million manufacturing center at Gateway Technical College will directly address the training required by area manufacturers for prospective hires. The manufacturing center will include a computer numerical control (CNC) program for both high school seniors as well as for adults.
“Expanded course offerings in welding, CNC and tool and die will begin in the fall. There will be at least four CNC courses in the curriculum as well as three tool-and-die courses.” These specialized courses are part of a larger curriculum, which leads to students obtaining associate degrees.
Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus in Elkhorn, WI spoke to a wide audience during the 2015 Precision Machined Products Association (PMPA) National Technical Conference, which took place on April 19-21, 2015, in Columbus, OH. His presentation centered on Precision Plus’ active plan to help close the skills gap in manufacturing.
PMPA’s 54th Annual National Technical Conference focused on technical innovation, quality advancements and shop management, offering attendees a variety of seminars on subjects needed to meet today’s precision manufacturing challenges.
In addition to Butters, six other members of the Precision Plus Team attended the conference: Mike Brown, John McConville and Sam Kirkland, Machinists, Terry Mumper, Engineer, Dale Wittlieff, Director of Quality and Continuous Improvement, and Bill Wells, Sales and Engineering Manager.
On Monday, April 20th, during a session entitled, “How to Deal with the Skilled Training Issue,” Butters shared Precision Plus’ “13-Step Playbook for Workforce Development,” currently used by the company, in an effort to close the manufacturing skills gap.
In his presentation, Butters talked about Precision Plus, its plan to double its capacity, and the absence of qualified employees to operate machines that do the work that used to be done by people in the past. He also addressed the overall perception of manufacturing based on “what it was then,” and the lack of information of “what it is now.” Whereas in the past, a high school student who may not be doing great in school would have been a prime candidate to go into manufacturing, today’s industry requires individuals who have high technical and math skills as well as strong soft skills.
In a 2012 News Magazine 60 Minutes interview, Professor Peter Cappelli of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, stated that even as late as a generation ago, manufacturing companies had training and apprenticeship programs in place, but over the last few decades that responsibility shifted primarily to technical colleges. As technology advanced, the curricula offered by technical colleges drifted away from the actual skills needed for professionals in manufacturing. Cappelli suggested that manufacturers needed to be involved in the training of prospective employees in one way or another.
After listening to this segment, Mike Reader, president of Precision Plus decided to get involved. “What’s the return on investment on doing nothing?” Reader asked.
Butters used Precision Plus’ “13-Step Playbook for Workforce Development” slideshow presentation to showcase the initiatives taken by Mike Reader and Precision Plus over the last two and a half years to get involved and become a catalyst. These efforts included hiring Butters, an educator, to help deploy the playbook. In 2013, Reader had organized a Manufacturing Career Panel at a local high school, which was attended by more than one hundred area students. When students asked about internship availability, Reader knew something had to be done.
Today, Precision Plus offers a summer internship program for young people typically becoming mechanical engineers, as well as a school-year apprenticeship program for students interested in pursuing a career in manufacturing.
Both programs expose students to all aspects of manufacturing and have been designed on a rotating department basis. In addition, students go on tours and attend tradeshows, among other activities. Parent involvement is key, as they must tour the facility before their child is accepted into either program.
In addition, Precision Plus is involved with local schools at all levels, from elementary through college. The company is a member of several career and technical education (CTE) committees, has brought more than 90 teachers, counselors and career coaches through the facility, and has welcomed students on field trips. In addition, Barry Butters has traveled to schools and has addressed students at all levels. Precision Plus also offers a Project Lead the Way (PLTW) engineering design and development (EDD) class, taught by Butters in the Precision Plus classroom to local high school students.
Having community support is crucial, so the public at large is regularly invited to tour the plant and learn about today’s manufacturing. Precision Plus has also reached out to vendors and customers to help enrich the experience, and has brought manufacturing industry awareness to local, state and national legislators, having had high ranking public officials across party lines tour the plant and engage in conversation, in an effort to find common ground and talk about workforce issues.
Butters information was well received and followed by many favorable comments, as per this letter from Monte Guitar, PMPA’s director of technical programs.
For more information on this presentation, please contact Barry Butters via phone or email.
In fall of 2014, Project Lead The Way (PLTW) announced a pilot program with a curriculum specifically designed for elementary school children, to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics arts (STEM). PLTW has had a solid record for rigorous and comprehensive curricula available to children from middle school through high school. Elkhorn Area School District was an early adopter of the elementary grades pilot program, the PLTW Launch Curriculum, which gives students an opportunity to explore and apply STEM sciences early on.
Dr. Joshua Schultz, Affiliate Director of PLTW at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), extended an invitation to Elkhorn Area School District PLTW students, as well as teachers and administrators, to participate in a Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development event and reception at the Advanced Manufacturing Center in Milton, WI on April 22, 2015, to celebrate the district’s accomplishments and receive a special recognition. Also invited were State of Wisconsin legislators, PLTW officials, Barry Butters from Precision Plus, and Wisconsin Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch.
[pb_slideshow group=”17″]
As planned, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch was at hand to hand the special recognitions. So were William White, Vice President, Project Lead The Way Midwest Region, Jason Tadlock, District Administrator for the Elkhorn Area School District and Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus
Students included Cullen Gahart (3rd Grade), Matthew Prokes (4th Grade), Natalie Petersen (5th Grade), Lesly Rodriguez (6th Grade), Gwen Nicholas (6th Grade), Wendy Remeeus (6th Grade), Elizabeth Wallace (11th Grade, Justice Bachtell (12th Grade), J.P. Griswold (12th Grade) and Kathryn Lieffrig (12th Grade). Teachers present were Eryca Card, Linda Frankenberg, Alex Hutson, Barry Butters and Jerry Iserloth. Jason Tadlock and Chris Trottier represented the administrators.
Teachers and administrators were asked to talk about their STEM initiatives, and to showcase their efforts to support education, their students, and reiterate the importance of STEM education policy decisions in Wisconsin. In addition, students from the Elkhorn Area School District displayed their projects and shared the value and lessons learned through their PLTW coursework.
The agenda included a continental breakfast, introductions and welcome by Tania Kilpatrick, CESA 6, an overview of PLTW in the Midwest Region by William White, presentations by Jason Tadlock, Barry Butters, Eryca Card and students, and by Thor Misko, Vice President of Development at PLTW. Dr. Joshua Schultz closed the program with final remarks about the event and the program.
And thank you, Elkhorn Area School District, for the shout out on their Facebook Page!
