FLOUR BLUFF, Texas — The sound of a hammer and a nail echo through the hallways of Flour Bluff High School where students are building a bright future for themselves.
Coach Zach Graf teaches the Pathway Technology program (P-TECH) and said that the main focus of the class is to prepare students for the real world.
The program lasts four years and allows students to develop and enhance their skill sets.
"Basically, what we want them to learn is to be comfortable using tools like a tape measurer and basic skills that they are going to use after high school," Graf said.
The students not only work on their skill sets, but also their work ethic. They are expected to go into the classroom and know there is always work that needs to be done.
Graf said that problem-solving is also a huge part of the class, and students are put to the challenge. At times, they will come across tasks they have never done and they have to figure out how to do it.
"My favorite part is putting it together," Zachery Cox, a sophomore at Flour Bluff High School, said.
The Flour Bluff Independent School District recently turned to Facebook to show the community what students are working on and to get financial support.
"We put a Facebook post the other day about a dog house and it got sold immediately (...) so we are building four dog houses now," Graf said.
Although the program is relatively new, many students are interested in the class. However, due to the lack of space, only 80 students can enroll in the program.
The program was given federal funds to start, but that money was not enough to keep the program active on its own. . To sustain the class and for the program to continue, the students must continue to build and sell their products.
"We thank the community for buying our products and everything that we've been building. It means a lot just because we don't want our stuff to go to waste and we work really hard on them and it's pretty awesome to know that people like to buy our stuff," Cox said.
Those who would like to support the programcan purchase a dog house, cornhole board, or even a Monopoly table, can click here to check out what's available along with prices.
