I recently had a chance to sit down with the new construction teacher, Mr. Klipfel, who also is the head swim coach here at Saugus High School. When asked about the construction class, he answered all the questions with honesty and the overall goals and possible incomes/outcomes given the different scenarios presented to him. The one key thing found surprising when interviewing him was the fact on how he was able to connect the fact how he started teaching this class and how there needs to be more importance towards education, kids taking more classes, and more classes throughout the day. He continues inspiring Centurions for many many years and is always spreading positivity throughout Saugus High School.
With his mindset of how education and learning important skills is essential, he answered my questions with deep thought and additional important comments. When asked why he started teaching this class he stated the outcome this school was in after the previous teacher had retired: “When Mr. Friedman had retired; there was a concern: would the shop die? There would be no one to teach the class.” Mr. Klipfel has a previous history in being the club advisor for Habitat for Humanity for the past 15 years, where he has experience in woodworking and construction for people in need of a safe home. Mr. Klipfel had a previous history in carpentry and decided to step up and fill the role once he had received his CTE credentials to be able to teach the class. He then talked about the district “FIFing” [Reduction in Force notice] teachers and leaving a bunch of departments empty such as the auto department. He didn’t want that to happen to the woodworking/construction pathway here at Saugus since this school is one of the two schools that offer this pathway (Saugus High School and Placerita Junior High School.)
But that was not just the main reason. Mr. Klipfel strongly emphasized the importance of education and taking more classes. He gave an example of how people want to take the least amount of classes possible. For example he said how “…seniors being done after lunch…only taking four science classes in four years. Why not take 12 science classes in four years? Why not have eight classes in a day rather than six?” He then explained why this pathway is crucial, especially since he believes in students “doing more hands-on work such as carpentry and auto.”
When asked about whether there is more relevance of this class here at Saugus than other schools he made a connection to parents and how it relates to the kids. He gave an example of how the parents of kids who go to West Ranch are more education oriented and have graduate degrees, whereas the parents at Saugus, it’s more relevant since “the parents here work as contractors, at studios, or in the military, work for first responders.” He then said that “this skill still should be relevant towards everyone, not just students looking at careers in architecture or carpentry.”
I then asked him if he would like someone to step up and run the auto pathway like he did with construction and he said “Oh yes! We need to get out there and recruit someone able to teach that. Not just auto; other CTE pathways should be taught so students have the opportunity to learn a variety of skills relating to the future or if they are just interested in it.” He then explained how it is hard to find someone with not only proper qualifications to teach this class but also able to work with young students, since they need patience, proper teaching, and close monitoring. He also had a couple words to the district, students, and parents: “For the district ‘brass’ we need to value skill-based classes for college-bound AND non-college-bound kids…We also need to find a way to get it into the schedule with a more creative bell schedule. For parents, make sure your kids are involved with hands-on activities, from clubs to classes to more classes in general. To students, I would say open your minds. They don’t even know we have this shop. The fact that the auto shop is closed, people should all be upset about that. We have all these resources and we need to utilize them.”
Mr. Klipfel is an amazing teacher, coach, club advisor, and life-coach. His choice to step up will change Saugus and the district for many years to come. Saugus Junior, Carlos Arruel, said he’s grateful that Saugus offers this class saying how it opens up multiple opportunities after high school. He said that it would help him learn more about the business and how to handle constructional jobs, especially since his father owns his very own construction company. Carlos said that his “experience for woodshop was very intriguing and [he] personally enjoyed the class. I am excited to see how Mr. Klipfel will handle the construction class, now that Mr. Friedman has retired.” Carlos also claimed that he is considering taking the class next year since he did not know about the construction class. The construction pathway offered here at Saugus is a pathway that should not be overlooked. Many students should take it regardless of if they are going to pursue it later on in life. It is an amazing department and strong opportunity for woodworking and construction.
