Additions made to Wahluke staff

MATTAWA - The Career and Technical Education Program in the Wahluke School District continues to grow, with two new staff additions arriving recently and possibly one more hire in the works.

According to department director Mike Smith, there were 25 people on the CTE staff last year. There will be 27, possibly 28 this year.

The CTE Program is the umbrella for all of the programs that teach skills that Wahluke graduates can put to use in employment right after high school, Morken said.

"But the things they learn can also be helpful if they go to college," he added.

The new staff members added so far are Gordon Althauser and Nathan Benfield.

Althauser is new to the district. He will be teaching three horticulture classes and one class of Gateway to Technology (GTT) at Wahluke Junior High School. He'll also teach one welding technology class at Wahluke High School.

"All three subjects fit me well," he said. "I was a pipefitter-welder for several years before I decided to return to school to study Education. I worked my way through college by taking welding jobs during the summers."

After college, Althauser taught in a variety of settings, including junior high, high school, community college and university. He was also a private consultant, teaching fitting and pipe welding to municipal gas department apprentices.

"I also worked for many years in Central Washington University's Facilities Maintenance Dept. in Mechanical Maintenance and as a Control Technician," he said.

As a Control Tech, Alhauser spent almost 10 years working with Alerton's Envision for BaCTalk, a powerful, computer-controlled building automation software system, which has many similarities to the GTT Robotics

Althauser has been an avid gardener for most of his adult life. He hopes to bring some of what he's learned about sustainable agriculture to his horticulture students.

"I worked as a substitute teacher in the Wahluke School District and decided I have a real affinity for its students. Luckily for me, a job opportunity presented itself," Althauser said.

Benfield grew up in the Tri-Cities, graduating from Kennewick High School. He graduated from Central Washington University, where he earned his teaching certificate.

Benfield spent the last six years teaching Special Education in Granger and Selah. He resides in Selah.

"I started in Special Education because I saw a need for special education teachers. I knew I'd be able to get a job" he said. "In addition it was appealing to me to work with the "difficult" kids. It is extremely rewarding, but also extremely difficult."

The extreme difficulty is dealing with all of the government's demands in the Special Education Program.

"With the amount of money that is tied up in SPED, there is a lot of required paperwork and a great deal of oversight for that paperwork,

Benfield said. "In addition to those responsibilities, we're asked often to teach multiple subject areas, provide oversight to ensure student plans are being followed and meet with teachers, parents and administration to troubleshoot the provision of adequate educational services for the students."

The combination of all those things left Benfield feeling as if he was spread too thin. He wanted an opportunity specialize in one area and really excel at it.

"I did some research, and I decided that teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) classes would be a prefect opportunity for me to specialize," Benfield said.

Benfield explains STEM classes as a set of practical skills that have an opportunity to enrich students' lives and the community as a whole.

"Couple that with the fact that technology has always been something that I have been interested in, this opportunity is perfect for me," he said.

Benfield looks forward not only to the opportunity to help youths but also the opportunity to grow and develop himself into an excellent STEM teacher,

"I am greatly looking forward to the opportunities that await within the realm of STEM," he said.