IBEW saw a need. Alton High, L&C partnered to help fulfill it.

 

By MELISSA CROCKETT MESKE
IBJ Managing Editor
[email protected]

The Alton Educational Foundation recently shared a social media post announcing the availability of a new dual credit class in the trades for Alton High School juniors and seniors. The class will start in the Fall 2025 semester and is designed for students interested in becoming an electrician, engineer or other related field.

Partnering with Lewis and Clark Community College and IBEW Local 649, the course will be a dual credit opportunity for its students. It will be taught by Jim Witt, a veteran educator and industry professional who also teaches at Lewis and Clark Community College. Alton High is hosting the course as one of its Early Bird classes and it will be held at L&C’s Scott Bibb Center in Alton.

Alton High School Assistant Principal Mike Brey, who also serves as career and technical education director, said the class “first came about from an outreach by the electricians’ union.”

IBEW Local 649 Business Representative Ryan Mouser provided further details: “I reached out to Alton School District in February 2024 to get more information about their current vocational electrical classes. I sit on the JATC [Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee], and we are responsible for selecting apprentices for the IBEW apprenticeship program. I see lots of students coming in from the surrounding school districts, but not Alton. I needed to get some answers.

Mouser continued, “Kristie Baumgartner met with me and let me know that there were no programs existing, but the district was interested in getting one started.” Baumgartner is the recently retired Alton School District superintendent.

Mouser said that several meetings followed between the IBEW and key district leaders such as Baumgartner’s successor, Superintendent Elaine Kane, Alton High School Assistant Principal & CTE Director Mike Brey, Alton School District Director of Student Services Mike Bellm, and many others to get the course offering underway.

Brey noted that there are currently nine students signed up for the fall 2025 launch class. All of them are either juniors or seniors at Alton High. “We believe that there are at least a few more that are considering signing up, but the class became open after most students had already signed up for classes, so this would require a schedule change,” Brey added.

“There are two separate but related classes being offered through the dual credit Fundamentals of Electricity course,” he said further. “The first will be taught in the fall. Enrolled students can then follow up with the second class in the spring. Completion can prepare students for a few different pathways after high school.”

“For example, these classes can prepare students for the Avionics, Process Technology and Information Technology offerings at Lewis and Clark Community College,” said Brey. “Completion also qualifies them for an apprenticeship at the local union hall. At Alton High School, these classes would be great preparation for our Construction Trades Program.”

The course delivery method is through a combined lecture and lab-type environment. Brey said that the instructor leading the course, Jim Witt, is also an instructor at L&C and plans to run the Alton High class the same as he does his college level classes. Brey also said that he thought a similar course was already being offered at Jersey Community High School in Jerseyville and that it could be implemented at other schools as well.

“IBEW Local 649 worked with Alton School District, and with Lewis and Clark, to push for the class and make it happen,” Brey said further. “They also helped in finding a qualified instructor.”

 

 

“IBEW, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, we are Union,” said Mouser. “We supply skilled craftsmen to five counties in Illinois where Local 649 has jurisdiction. We accept apprentices every two years, ranging from 12 to 26 per class.

“We take only the best and most qualified people for our apprenticeship,” Mouser added. “I believe a good high school foundation early on is the key to the best apprentice. That starts in high school. To let the young men and women in high school get familiar with this trade and what it takes to be a skilled craftsman is very important.”

Mouser continued: “We are currently experiencing shortages of electricians in this region and across the nation. To start an apprenticeship after high school without incurring lots of debt that comes along with four-year college is an added plus for everyone involved, and the community.”

Brey added to Mouser’s comments, saying, “The Union was lacking candidates, particularly minority candidates. It is believed that this offering at a diverse school like Alton High School will help them attract more quality applicants for their apprenticeship program.”

Brey further noted that Alton High submitted this program for a College and Career Pathway Endorsement just after the class itself was approved. The district hopes to hear from state officials soon that the Endorsement request is approved.