Grown Here at Home: Franklin County High School is getting new welding equipment

FRANKLIN CO., Va. (WDBJ) - When students at Franklin County High School get to work on community projects, it helps them take what they’re learning in their books and put it into practice. Now, they’ll have another tool to help them learn how to get the job done.

Sixteen school divisions across the Commonwealth received competitive grant money from the Virginia Department of Education to upgrade their CTE equipment. Five are from our hometowns. Each division will receive $37,500. Franklin County High School is using the money to buy two augmented reality welding systems for the upcoming school year.

“We saw the Miller Welders at Patrick & Henry Community College. They use them in their classroom with their students before they stick them in the real welding booth. We are seeing that the community colleges are utilizing this technology, so students get that experience in high school before they go for the program, they’ll already have a leg up,” said FCHS agriculture teacher and FFA advisor, Dr. Morgan Washburn.

The system simulates what a student will see and hear in a real welding booth.

“We can set the parameters for it, depending on the types of welding, and then it grades the welds for us. It gives the student feedback. It will tell them if they need to go faster or get closer. It will tell them exactly what they need to work on while they’re welding,” Washburn explained.

Students become proficient in the skill, and then get to work on a real project.

“It puts them in a different environment, so they’re welding on something different than in just a welding booth,” Washburn said.

One augmented reality welding system cost about $26,000. The grant, plus money from Perkins Funding, will pay for the welders. Agriculture, collision repair, auto technology, and masonry students will get to use the equipment.