Metals classes forge skills for industry

   Posted Dec. 28, 2025

Jacob Hoffman

Cub Reporter

Metals and Manufacturing Career and Technical Education, taught by CTE teacher Amanda Burns, is a Career and Technical Education class that works with manual machines, welding, and manufacturing processes.

Metals focuses on all aspects of the metals manufacturing industry. The class does all of the metals manufacturing because it is important for the students to learn all of the subjects and work on metals to make the students more valuable in the industry.

The class was established in 1954, the same year as the South Building was constructed. It was built into the South Building because the class has a lot of equipment and tools, along with all the space it would take up. Every year of this class, the first month students would understand the concepts and safety rules of the class before starting a project. 

Metals is a class where sophomores, juniors and seniors study the process of handling different manual machining and welding processes. The class also learns forge work, plasma cutting, and sheet metal fabrication. The class handles hand tools, drilling machines, cutting machines, mills, Gas Metal Arc Welders, Shielded Metal Arc Welders, forge and sheet metal tools. The students work with steel, stainless steel and aluminum. 

Students of this class must pass Exploring Metals to take Metals 2, then if the student wants to take Metals 3, they must pass Metals 2. In the overall years of students attending the class, it has been at a steady pace of the amount of students, which contains 130 students. Most students that attend the class have been in Design Make Create and have had some experience with handling tools and metals. 

“I find Metals enjoyable for all aspects of the class,” said senior Armani Fong, “Burns is a very chill and enthusiastic teacher.” 

Burns has been working in Metals for 12 years, and has taught automotive for 10 years before teaching Metals. Burns has experience with working with Metals and enjoying working with machinery and tools. Burns wants to help students create and problem solve projects and work they do. To her, problem solving is important because they want the students to learn from their mistakes. Burns loves to teach the class with all the creativity and creations the class does.

“The metals shop is a place where many students find a passion for a career they can enjoy and make a good living doing,” Burns said. “It is important to make sure they are valuable to the industry.”