Baldwin High School Woodworkers ‘Nail It’ Through Industry Partnership

Baldwin High School’s woodworking students recently constructed wooden podiums for the New York State Parks system, specifically for Jones Beach.

As part of the technology department’s Construction Career Pathway, students develop foundational and advanced carpentry skills through hands-on learning experiences. Using the high school woodshop, they research and draft project designs before cutting, shaping, and assembling materials with industry-standard tools and machinery. The Baldwin Union Free School District continues to enhance its construction curriculum by integrating the latest ‘cutting-edge’ technology and industry-standard software, including AutoCAD, a professional design and drafting software.

Most recently, the advanced carpentry and woodworking students finished their latest assignment for Jones Beach State Park. Through this partnership of twenty-five years, Baldwin High School students have designed and built various wooden structures for the New York State Parks system, which covers all of Long Island through Montauk.

Projects have included a Snack Shack, which sold refreshments; a flight control platform for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Precision Flight Team performances at the annual Memorial Day Air Show; knock-down barricades; storage boxes; ticket-taker booths—to name a few—the students fulfill the construction requests with materials furnished by the state park. The aspiring carpenters create resources for the district, too, such as the oak benches in the high school’s Learning Collaboratory.

“Designing and building handcrafted podiums for the New York State Parks Department through Baldwin High School’s Advanced Carpentry class gives students the opportunity to apply their classroom skills to meaningful real-world projects,” stated Mr. Vincent Leis, who currently teaches three Advanced Carpentry classes with a total enrollment of 45 students. “For over 25 years, this partnership has provided students with firsthand experience in how craftsmanship, precision, teamwork, and problem-solving translate beyond the shop and into professional applications, reinforcing the value and purpose of the skills they are learning.”

Since the fall, the aspiring carpenters also collaborated on the ‘Little Library’ project with the Civics Association as well as special projects with the elementary schools. Most recently, the students worked with the kindergarten class at Plaza Elementary School to produce toy wooden planes.

Jones Beach State Park picked up the podiums in time for the Memorial Day weekend, despite the rainy weather.