Builder benefactors, Crow donation reinforces grit in vocational training department

Two Weston County School District No. 1 programs have benefited from recent donations from a couple in the community, and it is raising pride in both the classrooms and the products that are created in them.

Barb Crow told the News Letter Journal that she and her husband, Pat, were marveling at the students’ woodwork projects at the annual wood and arts show in May 2024, and the idea for the philanthropic couple’s most recent donation was born there.

Bessie Colgrove, the middle and high school woodshop teacher, said that she spoke with Pat and Barb about the program and its students at the show, and mentioned that her classes were sometimes short on supplies.

A lot of the classroom equipment, including many of the portable and hand tools, was the same as it had been when Colgrove was in high school 20 years ago.

“We have a big glue table where we assemble projects, and my students always tell me their parents told them it’s the same one they remember,” she said. Barb noted that Colgrove had told them that the students, in order to protect their projects, preferred to put their work on the floor because the table was in such poor condition.

Colgrove said that it had also been a tough year for ag students because they had no metal or agriculture teachers from October 2023 through January 2024, but she reported that program participation was still “doing well,” even though materials costs had been rising since the COVID-19 pandemic.

A couple of weeks after the show, Pat called Colgrove
and offered a donation, which supported an activity fund for the vocational-agriculture department.

She said she was “completely shocked” and “unbelievably grateful” to receive his call.

“I have known the Crows since I was young and have always known what wonderful people they are personally, and for our community,” Colgrove said. “And for them to trust me to help steward this amazing gift is an honor.”

Morgan Loepp, the Newcastle High School agriculture and welding instructor, said she learned from Colgrove about the Crows’ interest in supporting the programs.

“I had to reread the email Mrs. Colgrove had sent at least three times before I began to process what this could mean for our programs. I was completely shocked, grateful and taken (aback) by the overwhelming support,” she said.

“He (Pat) liked the direction the programs were going and loved the idea of an opportunity to help two strong women (Colgrove and Morgan Loepp) in traditional male roles build even better programs for students to find success in the trades,” Colgrove said.

“Being a woman in the trades/agriculture is difficult alone, but being the face of a high school program is a new level of stress and pressure I have never experienced,” Loepp stated. “It was good to know that there are people who not only see the work that Mrs. Colgrove and I have put into our programs but also recognize our drive to see them improve.”

In addition to buying a new shielded metal arc welder to replace a broken one, Loepp also purchased more welding rod and all her classes can weld at the same time now. She said that because of the donation, the department will also be able to purchase supplies such as metal, the cost of which has continued to increase since the COVID pandemic.

Loepp said that most of the materials that classes use in the ag shop are expendable, and little or no funding is left over for students who may not be able to afford metal for projects and new welding helmets or gloves. With the donation, students are better able to focus on improving and honing their skills in preparation for joining the workforce instead of worrying about whether they can even build a project simply because they may not have the money.

“This is huge because it means every student has a chance to find success here, no matter their demographic,” Colgrove said.

Loepp agreed, noting that several students claimed they couldn’t take her class because of finances.

“They simply did not see the point if they couldn’t afford metal to build a project at the end of the semester,” she said. “That door has now opened for those students and given them the opportunity to put their practice into a practical scenario.”

Last year, Colgrove had asked students what new tool they would want most for the shop, and the answer was unanimous: new work tables. That was her priority too, but replacing the old tables, which were “beaten up” and had broken table vices, would be too expensive. The Crows’ donation made it possible to replace them. Colgrove was able to surprise the students with the gift in the first week of the 2024-25 school year.

“The amount of pride they have shown for the shop’s new equipment is so cool to see,” she said.

Barb said that both teachers mentioned that the students needed “stuff they could be proud of.”

“There was a need and we were able to help, so we are,” she said.

Colgrove indicated the department is still working through the funds it received from the Crows, and said the teachers want the district’s programs to be among the best in the state. While she believes community members are familiar with the strength of the department, she’s not confident that they are aware of the expense involved in producing quality projects.

One good piece of equipment can cost about the same amount that the federal career and technical education Perkins grant provides the district in a given year, so the donation from the Crows is, effectively, a recruiting tool. The better the quality of the department’s equipment, the more excited students will be to use it.

“That equates to more career-ready students graduating with practical skills and knowledge directly related to the critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork skills essential in today’s workforce,” she said.

Loepp said it’s a blessing to live in a community where the trades and the agricultural industry are at the forefront.

“Students in my program learn much more than how to weld, create design plans or use different tools to build a project,” she said. “Students are learning that there is still value in traditional techniques, that your word holds power and, most importantly, to work through problems and think for yourself.”

School Shorts

Notes from the Oct. 9, meeting of the Weston County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees

• Delta Kappa Gamma and the Newcastle Education Association are hosting a school board candidates forum from 6:30-8:30 p.m., Oct. 29 in Newcastle High School’s auditorium, which is at 111 Casper Ave., Newcastle.

• The Oct. 30 board meeting will begin at 5 p.m. so the board can hold their annual performance evaluation of Superintendent Brad LaCroix.

• The board is inviting officials at school districts that have discontinued their involvement in the federal lunch program to tell the Newcastle board about their experiences at the Nov. 13 meeting.

• Chair Dana Mann-Tavegia suggested that the district pay for director-level employees’ insurance and determine which employee groups should be eligible for flexible or remote work. She said in a follow-up text that she asked that the board discuss that as an option as it prepares for the fiscal year 2026 budget. The matter wouldn’t be voted on by the board until June 2025.

• Newcastle Elementary School’s children’s choir will sing the national anthem at the Nov. 9 Rapid City Rush hockey game, Principal Brandy Holmes said. According to the Rush’s website, the team will play the Kansas City Mavericks in Rapid City, and it will be Veterans Appreciation Night.

• Holmes said the morning enrichment robotics program begins Oct. 28 and has had a “huge turnout.”

• Newcastle Middle School Principal Tyler Bartlett said 92 people attended the school’s Oct. 7 family math night. The evening, which title math teacher Lori Crawford led, included games and prizes, and parents received information about how they can help their children learn math “without knowing math.”

• Maintenance Director Adam Ertman said Strand’s Lawn Care requested that the district minimize use of the football field this year and had offered Newcastle Youth Football Association use of the practice field. In Sept. 30 Facebook posts, the Newcastle Youth Football Association said it will play at the Newcastle Babe Ruth Field.

• Wyoming Educators’ Benefit Trust board members will attend a conference in San Diego in November and have a work session in early December, Mann-Tavegia said. The conference is hosted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.