ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Students at St. Dominic High School will get the chance to experience a new program next year.
Starting in 2025/26 school year, junior and seniors at St. Dominic High School will be able to participate in the school's new 'Building Trades Program.'
"We're going to offer four different building trades," said Jim Welby, President of St. Dominic High School on 'The Chris and Amy Show'. "We surveyed our students about what their interest levels would be."
"They came back and told us that the trades they would love to learn more about are carpentry, electrical, HVAC, and plumbing and pipefitting."
Welby says initially opening the program to junior and seniors at the school was what they felt was 'the safest way to begin the program.'
"There's just something about trusting a 14-year-old with a chop saw that makes me a little bit nervous," said Welby.
Welby says, based on surveys from the past two years, they found that around 230 students out of 1130 students have expressed interest in the program.
"It's a little less than one in five expressing interest in seeing it," said Welby. "But I think it's important to note is some students will come into the program with the desire that this is what they want to do for the rest of their lives."
"Other students will take it practically as a practical arts class because it's something that interest them even though they know they are college bound. It's a chance for them to get some exposure that will do them some good for the rest of their lives."