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Class Is A Lot Of Work

LOIS KINDLE/Tampa Tribune

Sharitz and his senior class of comm.-tech students. In the front row from left are Cody Taylor, Sharitz, Mathew Castro and Jake Bramlett. Second row: Giovanni Intagliata-Hooker, Alex Lopex, Alejandro Granado and Matt Shiftlet. Back row: Adam Silverman, Samuel Arduengo, Scott Rucker and Chris Lindfield.

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By LOIS KINDLE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 14, 2007

Riverview High School opened in 1998, Ron Sharitz was 26 and working in a Pennsylvania print shop.

Although he had earned an education degree from Millersville University in Lancaster, Pa., he was waiting for a specific job: He wanted to teach communications technology.

The following year, Sharitz came to Clearwater to visit his sister. Before the trip, he sent out resumes to 10 Florida school districts along the state's coastal areas. He soon received an e-mail invitation from Frank Johnson, who was then the supervisor of career and technology education for Hillsborough County public schools, to come for an interview.

Although he had come to visit his sister, Sharitz went directly from Tampa International Airport to Johnson's office and then rode with him to Riverview to meet with Principal Vince Thompson.

"I was offered a job on the spot," he said.

Accepting the position, Sharitz had found a home.

Eight years later, he's one of a handful of teachers in the county training students in applied technology. The others are at Spoto, Durant and Hillsborough high schools, said Kristin Waskiewicz, a communications manager for the school district.

In August, Sharitz introduced a fourth-level class to his communications technology program. The new class teaches students real-world applications, gives them industry experience and allows them to work on projects that generate revenue.

"I would say it's the only one of its kind in the school district," he said.

Entering his classroom is like walking into a small manufacturing company.

While one senior is busy silk-screening a shirt, another is embroidering towels for the swim team.

Other students apply what they learned in the classroom by binding books, printing business cards or making banners and yard signs. Students also get practical experience in graphic design and digital photography.

The students' work often benefits the school, but community businesses, churches, other schools and organizations also get help with projects.

"By doing these things, we generate funds for much-needed equipment and supplies," Sharitz said.

Although the program is not permitted to charge for labor, the cost of having students do a job is materials plus 30 percent. The revenue isn't much, but it augments the funding the state provides for school technology programs. Sharitz said he gets $15 per student from the state.

The towel project, for example, netted the program $15.87 - 50 cents per 1,000 embroidery stitches, plus $2.87 profit.

"We recently had a man come in from a local church with a 30-page manuscript he needed printed, collated and bound," Sharitz said. "So we worked the project into the curriculum, wrote up a work order and completed the job in three days."

Students learn to use offset printing presses, silk-screen presses, an embroidery machine, vinyl cutter, book binder, laminator, padding press, paper cutters and a digital duplicator.

Sharitz said the program, which trains up to 120 students a year, isn't intended to compete with companies. Its focus is to provide skilled labor to the work force.

In the past three years, Sign Makers of Tampa Bay, a Riverview company, hired four of Sharitz's graduates for full-time jobs. One of them later started his own vinyl sign and art-framing company.

"The Riverview High School program is excellent," said Sign Makers owner Bob Boettger. "The students I've hired are actually a cut above in their job skills. Instead of flipping hamburgers, they've learned a trade that pays them $9 to $12 an hour, depending on experience."

For information about the program, call (813) 671-5011, Ext. 283.

CLASS WISH LIST

•Color plotter: cost, $20,000

•Laser engraver: cost, $15,000

•Direct To Garment printer: cost, $10,000

Reporter Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553 or lkindle@tampatrib.com.

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