Nine Waverly High School students are spending part of each school day in the district bus garage, where a fabrication class gives them hands-on experience restoring vehicles and solving mechanical problems.
Larry Tompkins leads the class, which currently has students working on several vehicles. Projects include a 1952 Ford F-series truck, a 1968 Mustang and a 1987 Volkswagen. Students are completing system rebuilds, cutting out rust and learning how to approach repairs safely and methodically.
The class is open to Waverly students in grades nine through 12 and meets for 85 minutes each day. Tompkins said the goal is to give students enough practical knowledge and confidence to work on vehicles on their own, while also showing them possible career paths.
Sophomore Lucas Mullen said the garage setting provides a welcome change from a traditional classroom. Mullen, who already works on dirt bikes and cars at home, said he may use what he is learning to pursue work as a diesel mechanic.
The program completed a restoration of a 1961 MG sports car last school year. The district now uses the car in parades.
Community participation helps keep the class operating. Vehicle owners loan their cars to the program and assume the cost of restoration materials, giving students real projects while returning repaired vehicles to their owners.
District officials say the arrangement allows students to build technical skills, learn from an experienced instructor and see how classroom habits such as planning and persistence translate into practical work.
