This morning, Miami Lakes Educational Center had the opportunity to unveil the newest addition to the MLEC family, the new Trade and Industry strand: Building Automation Systems Technology (BAST).
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho @MiamiSup and Madam Chair Perla Tabares Hantman @MDCPSPHantman cut the ribbon to MLEC’s newest strand: Building Automation Systems Technology pic.twitter.com/VYcFqSEMYO
— The Harbinger (@HarbingerMLEC) April 12, 2018
Welcoming our guests—members of our School Board along with the Superintendent, and his team, and representatives from Siemens Automation Company—with warm smiles, we unveiled our spanking new Siemens Lab.
This new strand will teach its students to work with state-of-the-art technology, to focus on energy efficiency, and sustainability. They will learn to design programs for logic controllers; diagnose, test, and debug complex equipment; and include recommendations for operation along with more innumerable skills. This strand will serve as a stepping stone for those who aspire to become Automation System Technicians.
In partnership with SIEMENS and the Association of Career Professionals, Miami Lakes Educational Center is opening the Building Automatiom Systems Technology strand pic.twitter.com/IqRUUPLGgn
— The Harbinger (@HarbingerMLEC) April 12, 2018
This lab is not like any other. Not only will the lab be available to MLEC’s adult students, but it will also be open to high school students. MLEC is the first school in Florida, and in the nation to offer such classes to high school students.
This morning, we celebrated the groundbreaking opening of the strand, and the successful inauguration of the new class. For now, the class is available for adult students and classes started earlier this week on Monday. The class will be available for ninth grade students for the 2018-2019 school year.
Future BAST student, Emslun Pape, currently an eighth grade student at Florida International Academy charter school, was present to express his excitement.
“I’m really excited to be a part of the first class. I believe the course will help me find a decision in what I want to do in the future. It’s going to be hard from time to time, but with the right training, I feel like we can achieve it,” he said.
When asked why he chose MLEC and its new strand, Ivan Lopez, incoming eighth grader from Miami Lakes Middle School, said he was attracted to this school when he visited during Open House.
“I wanted to work in Automation. I like working with machines, and things that work by themselves,” he elaborated.
@MDCPS Superintendent Carvalho follows Brian Lovell as he is shown MLEC’s new Building Automation Systems Technology hands-on classroom pic.twitter.com/jEv1EtrReu
— The Harbinger (@HarbingerMLEC) April 12, 2018
The opening ceremony kicked off with Principal Lourdes Diaz, who welcomed the guests, and introduced the first guest speaker, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho.
“Being the first in the nation is something we relish,” said Carvalho, as he expressed his pride in his speech.
“I am so proud of this school, proud that it is providing this unique dual learning opportunity … and so happy about this corporate partnership with Siemens,” said Mrs. Hartman, the School Board Chair.
@MiamiSup speaks with 8th grader Ivan Lopez from @MLMSWarriors, and incoming freshman, who commit to the new Building Automation Systems Technology pic.twitter.com/HPr7VpZYRE
— The Harbinger (@HarbingerMLEC) April 12, 2018
Thanks to this new class, MLEC will be able to open more doors for its students, and offer more job opportunities; and with a new class comes the need for a new teacher. However, that doesn’t exactly mean a new face.
Our former zone mechanic, Bill Aylor, is the new BAST teacher. When asked why he chose the job, Mr. Aylor admitted, “They actually chose me. They know I have an interest in electronics and offered me this job.”
Not only was Aylor MLEC’s zone mechanic for the past 12 years, but he also had been teaching night classes for the last 3 years until he transitioned into teaching the new BAST classes at the school.
“I enjoy teaching. I liked seeing the students faces when they finally understood something,” said Mr. Aylor.
“It’s a growing field and they’re going to need people. These companies are gonna need people and they’re gonna look for [those students in the program],” said Rodrigue Simeon Jr., a former student from William H. Turner Technical Arts High School, who was absorbed into working with wires from his seat in the new lab.
This morning began a whole new chapter to MLEC’s story, and we started it with pride and determination, and we intend to continue that way.
