Newsletters 2015-16 Focus newsletter, [2] fall | Page 7

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE

PAGE 7

Anoka-Hennepin, Dunwoody partner on industrial sewing program
to help special needs students learn in-demand job skills
A new collaboration between the
Anoka-Hennepin School District and
Dunwoody College of Technology is
helping some special needs students
learn employable skills that are particularly in demand in Minnesota.
Turns out, there is a major shortage
of skilled industrial sewers in the state.
For every five open positions in the
field, there is only one qualified worker
in Minnesota, said Anoka-Hennepin
special education teacher Laura Boche.
Boche works at Bridges, a special
education transition program in the
district for students ages 18 to 21 that
focuses on life and job skills to help students be as independent as possible.
She had already started teaching a
recreational sewing class at the
request of parents who wanted their
children to learn basic sewing and
knitting. But after reading a New York
Times article last year that highlighted
the renewed demand for Americanmade goods in the textile and apparel
industries and the need for more
skilled workers, she said a lightbulb
went off.
“It was an open field. When I read
that, I thought, what can I do for our
students? I have some students who
are very good at sewing, how could
they be involved in this? I could see
them being able to do part of an
assembly line or be part of a factory
process,” she said.
The article also mentioned that an
industry group called the Makers
Coalition, which formed to help
address the shortage, had partnered
with Dunwoody on an industrial

“ I was very impressed
with the student’s
accomplishments over the
course of this program. ”
- Laura Boche, Special Education teacher

sewing program to create qualified
workers in Minnesota.
Boche contacted Dunwoody, which
agreed to collaborate on a pilot program to train students from Bridges
and Pathways, the district’s other
special-education transition program,
in these sought-after skills.
“They were willing to modify their
current course to something more
assembly line based,” she said. “So
rather than start-to-finish training, we
are learning different parts of the
process: how to run machines, how to
quality check your work. Our students
will be able to walk out of here and
complete a part on an assembly line
for sure.”
Leah Collins, project manager of
continuing education at Dunwoody,
said she was very excited for the
opportunity to collaborate with the
Anoka-Hennepin School District,
especially after visiting with the
Bridges Transition Program last
November.

April Ashleson, center, an instructor with Dunwoody's industrial sewing program, helps
Bridges student Adella Hawes, left, with the seam on a pair of cotton shorts while Pathways
student Chao Lee, right, works on her project.

“After observing the intro to industrial sewing and vocational seminars I
could tell how passionate the students
were,” she said. “A number of the
students already had some basic
sewing experience and they seemed
genuinely excited for an opportunity
to attend a modified industrial sewing
program at Dunwoody.”

“It’s been so fun to see how much
pride they take in their work when
they accomplish something. They are
interested and engaged every day,”
she said. “And every single family that
we shared this opportunity with was
really, really excited about it.”

The program began March 23 and
ended June 4, with students attending class at Dunwoody every day for
two hours. Projects included working
with a variety of fabrics, from cotton
to leather, to create finished items
such as wallets, shorts, and teddy
bears. Students also learned how to
create different seams and stitches,
how to run machines, how to thread
and change a needle, and skills such
as how to make a ruffle and how to
connect two different shaped pieces
of fabric.

Boche said the students’ reaction
has been very positive, and she has
seen their confidence increase
throughout the program.

April Ashleson, an instructor in
Dunwoody’s sewing specialist program
who worked with the students, said
she thinks the program is a great idea.
“I think it has been really successful,
because half the students weren’t able
to sew beforehand and now they can
make a finished product,” she said. “I
think everybody could potentially get
a job doing some step in the process.
And it’s been really nice to get to
know everybody and see them grow.”
After a successful trial run, the plan
is to continue the program at
Dunwoody next year.

Boche said the next step is to make
connections with businesses in the
sewing industry – such as dance costume companies - and hopefully get
the students hired. She also plans to
start a prerequisite sewing course at
Bridges or Pathways next year for
students interested in the Dunwoody
program, which would cover the
basics so their time at Dunwoody can
be used for more advanced training.
Collins said she is looking forward
to continued collaborations between
Dunwoody and the Anoka-Hennepin
School D