Setting the standard: masonry instructor leads struggling vocational-technical program into top national ranks

Masonry Construction, Feb, 2005

The masonry program at H.H. Ellis Regional Vocational Technical School was foundering when Steve Daly accepted the position of department head and sole instructor at the Danielson, Conn., facility 17-years ago. Enrollment had dwindled to about 20 students and, confronted with constant instructor turnover, the state was considering shutting down the program.

Daly had recently relocated from Boston, where he worked more than nine years as a union mason. He had misgivings about switching to an instructor role, but quickly became committed to turning around Ellis' struggling masonry program. "Once I started teaching, I knew I wouldn't leave even though I'd be giving up my union pension," Daly remembered.

Within two years, enrollment had grown enough to warrant hiring a second instructor, Mike Daigle, who was a graduate of the Ellis program and has remained on the faculty. "Mike works primarily in residential, specializing in stone, and my background is mostly commercial," said Daly. "It has been a good mix."

Today, the program is full with about 60 students. "There's been a waiting list for 8 or 10 years now," Daly said. The school has built a reputation and employers are clamoring to hire its graduates, he added. "'The union hires every senior I can give them and reduces his apprenticeship hours," the instructor continued.

Comprehensive program

In the four-year secondary program, students receive a broad masonry education covering safety and sanitation, use and care of tools and equipment, building codes, blueprint reading, and estimating. They progress from mixing mortar and jointing walls to building projects from drawings, working with their peers in the architectural drafting, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical programs.

Juniors and seniors spend most of their time on actual jobsites, taking turns at performing the various masonry tasks. This year's project is a two-story storage building for the local fire department. "Production is run like any construction job," explained Daly. "We push the kids real hard; they're not even allowed to sit down. They use all of the equipment, and in the winter we top and heat the site and they keep going. It's a good experience for them to work alongside the other trades."

Daly runs a tight ship. "Students are required to show up with their boots laced, shop shirt, safety glasses, and a pencil in their pocket," he said. "The program is very structured and they know what's expected. Most of these kids need that stability."

To graduate, students must pass a standardized competency test. The state established this requirement three years ago to comply with the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Bush Administration's education reform program. Students in the masonry program at Ellis place in the top 80 percentile in the nation, according to Daly.

Daly was one of five industry professionals called upon by the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) last year to revise the assessment exam, which is administered nationwide. "We rewrote the four subtests: bricklaying, blocklaying, stone masonry, and experienced worker," said Daly. "There are 300 written questions and a four-hour performance test."

Building enthusiasm

Four years ago, Ellis students started participating in the SkillsUSA competion, claiming the state championship each year. At the national level, Ellis' contestants have consistently placed in the top 10. "It's good exposure for the kids," said Daly. "It lets them work under pressure and have people evaluate their efforts. It boosts their confidence."

Another event that creates excitement for the students is the annual Open House at the Ellis facility, which serves as a recruitment tool that usually draws nearly 300 people. The students design and build projects to display, often working overtime to perfect their creations. "It's their night to shine," stated Daly.

The message the instructor uses to motivate the students is the same one that inspired him when he was starting out in the trade: "At the end of the day, you can stand back and see what you've accomplished." For the students, it's rewarding to be able to bring friends and family to see their construction projects, commented Daly.