An act of generosity to one young man entering the building trades is emblematic of a larger Springfield partnership among a church, businesses and unions, designed to help Lanphier High School students succeed.
When Joey Martin graduated from Lanphier in May, he was part of a pilot building trades program intended to expose students to various construction jobs and transition them into apprenticeships with building trade unions.
Martin was admitted into the apprenticeship program with Laborers Local 477. But he was afraid he was going to have to turn down the offer because he didn't have a reliable vehicle to drive to job sites.
"We cover seven counties, so transportation is important," said Brad Schaive, business manager for Local 477. "But the matter was taken care of with donations from West Side Christian Church."
It was actually a coalition called Lanphier United that consists of the church, O'Shea Builders and Solid Ground Solutions that assisted the young man. A benefactor purchased a discounted vehicle and a mechanic volunteered to repair the SUV. It was then donated to Martin.
"The remarkable thing is that when he is able to afford to buy his own car, he intends to donate the car back to the building trades program for another student to use," said Melissa Sandel, director of ministries at the church.
She added while the story of the donated car is a heartwarming one, the bigger picture is how the Lanphier United coalition began this summer.
"We want to spotlight the many positive things that are happening at Lanphier. The challenges often get magnified, while the good things oftentimes go under the radar," she said. "Lanphier has a faculty filled with people who really want to see these students succeed, and they sacrifice for them."
The north-end high school has faced its share of challenges. Pierre Scott, 18, was stabbed to death, allegedly by another student, just outside the school on Nov. 17, 2021.
"Many of their students struggle," Sandel said. "They come from low-income homes and they experience symptoms of poverty. Not everyone at Lanphier comes from that type of background, but the school has just experienced a lot of tragedy and trauma over the last few years."
A group of faculty and administrators met at the church during the summer and teamed with the church and the businesses to create Lanphier United.
"It's a team of organizations and individuals that rallied around Lanphier to try to help elevate the trajectory of the school. ... Lanphier's leaders wanted to cultivate hope and belonging and unity, first among their staff and administrators and then among students, parents and our community. Everybody is partnering together to help kids succeed," Sandel said.
The high school is currently undergoing a $93.2 million renovation, thanks to a sales tax referendum voters approved in 2018 for Springfield Public Schools District 186. An auditorium, a 2,000-seat fieldhouse and an area for a construction trades program are some of the features of the addition.
Over the years, District 186 had phased out building trades classes. But five years ago, it tried to reintroduce the curriculum at Lanphier.
"The district really saw it as more of a math class, so it was put in with the math department," said Rob Handy, who now co-teaches the class. "It was terrible. It was horrible. We had no students in the class. There were two kids one year, and the next year there was one, and then the year of COVID, we didn't have any."
But last year, 12 pupils were in the program and this year there are 39 students. Next year, the school's 4,000-square-foot workshop will be completed in the new building and the program will be open for students districtwide.
The building trades program is now offered only to juniors and seniors but in two years, Handy said he hopes to see it offered to all high school grade levels.
Those enrolled in the program are a mix of special education and general education students, said Handy, who is a certified special education teacher.
Students visit various job sites, observe different trades in action and do hands-on learning. Part of the classwork is for the students to visit each of the city's building trade union halls and hear what each vocation has to offer.
"There's so much opportunity in the workforce, and there's a shortage of workers," said Local 477's Schaive. "There is a large shortage of tradespeople because there's so much work. You have to look at every avenue of recruiting.
"This is an opportunity to educate the youth that you don't necessarily have to take on a lot of college debt to be successful. Whether it's the laborers, the operators, the plumbers, steamfitters, you can make a great living. ... It's a sure path to the middle class."
Scott Reeder, a staff writer for Illinois Times, can be reached at [email protected].
