Career & Technical Education (CTE)

Welding Supply Company Gives High School Welding Program $10,000 Worth of Equipment  

Last Wednesday, Airgas USA, a welding supply company from Flagstaff, delivered $10,000 worth of free welding equipment and supplies to Page High School’s welding program. The equipment included brand new welding hoods, various welding tools – such as pliers and channel locks – welding gloves and PPE for the students, as well as argon and CO2 gas. Pretty much everything a welding student needs to succeed in his or her class.

    “This is going to have a huge impact for my welding students, and on our program,” said Sam Rangel, Page High School Welding instructor. “I feel absolutely blessed and honored to be selected. We’ve been in need of new tools for some time. They get used hard and they get old and worn out. This will replenish our tools so that every student during a class period will have their own tools, rather than having to share between students.”

    Rangel said he plans to keep a set of the new welding hoods aside for his students attending competitions so they’ll have a nice-looking uniform.

    “I want to remind our community that our welding program is here to help,” said Rangel. “In our country right now, we’re experiencing a skills gap. There are more skilled-labors jobs than there are skilled workers to fill the jobs. Graduating skilled welders will lessen that skills gap.”

    Rangel takes great pride in teaching the next generation of America’s welders. “Having skilled welders keeps America competitive on the world stage, being a strong industrial nation, being a world country and having to rely less on foreign help.”

    Rangel teaches a little more than 100 students in his welding classes. He teaches first-time welders who don’t know anything about the craft, all the way to advanced students. The ultimate goal of the high school welding program is to have any student who wants to, graduate from high school with a welding certification that can get them an entry-level position in the welding industry.

    The welding supplies that were given to PHS’s welding program came from the 2022 Airgas High School Welding Education Initiative, an annual program Airgas sponsors as a way to help successful high school welding programs meet their needs.  

     Page High School was one out of 30 schools across the country who won this year’s Airgas High School Welding Education Initiative. Airgas has been a supplier and supporter of Page High School’s welding program for decades and the two organizations have a long history of cooperation. Eden Lainoff, Airgas Branch Manager in Flagstaff, nominated Page High School’s welding program for the $10,000 award.

    “Sam [Rangell] and I talked on the phone and I asked him what his program needed,” said Lainoff. “We went through a list of high-priority to low-priority items they needed, and submitted their application.”

   Airgas was more than happy to award the PHS welding program with $10,000 worth of equipment, said Don Dexter, Airgas District Manager. He sees it as a win-win for both the high school and his own company.

    “We like to partner with schools, because the way we see it, this continues our industry,” said Dexter. “The students today learning to weld will be our customer tomorrow. The people in the skilled trades, like welding, are very important to the success of our business, as well as the success of our country.

    “And we were especially happy to give this to Page’s welding program. This program has been turning out quality welders for decades. I doubt you could visit a jobsite that requires welders anywhere in our region without finding a welder that didn’t come through Page High School’s welding program. We happy to help keep that tradition going.”

    Chuck Sharp, PUSD’s CTE Director, is thrilled at the work being performed by Rangel and his welding students and is looking forward to see what amazing things they’ll do with the new equipment.

    “It’s great to have an industry partner like Airgas,” said Sharp. “We’re very appreciative of the support they give to us.”

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students in cooking class
Students in Class
Students in Drafting Class
Students in Welding Class

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Click link below to see our CTE Program Standards
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Our goal is to provide students with a foundation of skills that will enable them to become gainfully employed upon high school graduation while at the same time enhancing their academic skills. Many students will be able to use this education to support themselves while pursuing their college degree.

The future workforce needs look very different from those in the past. The projections show that 20% of the workers will need to be professionals, 15% will be unskilled, and 65% will need to be skilled workers. It is the goal of Career and Technical Education to help students enter a field to become a skilled worker. Page High School offers 12 comprehensive programs from which a student can choose.

For more information about this cooperative work experience program, please see the attached overview as well as our district's CTE page.

CTE Vision

Ensure a dynamic workforce by fully developing every student's career and academic potential.

CTE Mission

Prepare Arizona students for workforce success and continuous learning.

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CTE Contacts

Meet our Career and Technical Education (CTE) team. At Page High School, we are proud to offer robust CTE programs that challenge our students to maximize their career potential. If you have any questions about our CTE programs, please give us a call during regular office hours or send us an e-mail. We're happy to serve you.

 Main Office: (928)608-4138
Office hours: 7:30 AM -4:00 PM