When Chris Todd was looking into career and technical education teaching positions in Arizona, he made a discovery.
The northwestern Iowa native knew the factory, industrial and agricultural infrastructure and history of the Upper Midwest meant career, technical and former “industrial arts” classes and facilities were common there. But his search for teaching positions — which landed him in Chandler High School’s cabinetry program — showed him Arizona still has collective work to do.
“Anything Arizona has going on as far as career and technical ed is way behind what, say, Nebraska has had for years, in every single high school,” Todd said. “So coming down here (when his wife found an Arizona job) was a big shock. I asked, ‘Do these places not have shop classes?’ Fortunately, I found out Chandler High had an opening.”
