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Published: Thursday, Feb. 02, 2012 / Updated: Thursday, Feb. 02, 2012 10:58 AM

Expanded Clover High tech center looks to grow

CLOVER -- 

Clover agriculture teacher Carrie Bolin mentors students destined for a wide range of careers — from veterinarians to pet groomers, and specialists in turf management to hydroponics.

Her new classroom and equipment at Clover’s Applied Technology Center — which include a new greenhouse for horticulture-related studies — enable Bolin and others to better prepare them for those careers.

“It just brings new excitement and rejuvenation to the program,” said Bolin, who noted that more students are signing up for classes that fall under the umbrella of agriculture, or “ag” programs, as career paths within the area continue to expand. For example, one growing career area is hydroponics, the science of growing plants in water, without soil.

The agriculture classes — as well as classes in auto mechanics, home arts, ROTC, business and others — are housed in a new, 52,000-square-foot building that’s part of Clover’s Applied Technology Center.

The building, which includes 12 classrooms and a cafeteria — including six “shop” classrooms with large, open spaces for projects and bays that open to the outdoors — opened for students and teachers last month. The building is part of a multi-phased two-year, $13.5 million expansion and renovation project at Clover High School and the adjacent technology center.

Robert Johnson, director of career and technical education, said the new building features more modern facilities, such as computer terminals in all classrooms and the modern greenhouse, which replaces an older, outdated greenhouse. It also gives the career programs space to grow.

“We have some options open to us that were not before,” Johnson said, referring to the opportunity for new and expanded programs. “We’re looking at what programs is there a relevant need for among our students.”

One example of a potential new program, he noted, is the field of “green” energy technologies, which is already being offered in the York school district. “We have some students here in Clover who are hungry for that.”

The additional space also will enable Clover schools to continue the goal of further integrating career and technical training with academic disciplines, as many careers require both.

For example, he said, students who want to pursue careers in engineering, health sciences, building construction and many others can benefit from both academic courses, like science and math, and career training programs that offer more hands-on learning experiences.

“We’re trying to forge ahead and bring what formerly was two different pathways, and bring them together as one,” he said.

Johnson said the new building has already allowed the center to increase its enrollment in some of the business classes taught there because of the addition of more computer terminals.

He said about 75 percent of the roughly 1,850 students at adjacent Clover High School on S.C. 55 will take at least one class in the career and technology center during the current school year.

The new career and technology building, which is located directly behind the existing building, offers enough classroom space to house 200 to 250 students at one time, Johnson said. He said the older career building at the front has space for about 200 students.

Retired Maj. Brian Batson, commander of the Air Force ROTC program, which is housed in the technology center, said his program has more space for its activities in the new digs.

Before the addition, he said, the ROTC program only had a classroom, and students needed to move outside for military exercises. The new space features a classroom and a large “hangar” area where Batson can have leadership exercises, formations and practice for basic drills and flag or rifle handling.

“It’s a very flexible work space,” said Batson, who said he has 180 students enrolled in the ROTC program each year — or 90 students each semester. “I didn’t have that before.”

The center’s six “shop” classrooms also include a second-floor “mezzanine level,” where Batson has uniforms and other ROTC equipment. There’s also a restroom and a storage area.

As part of the construction project, Clover High opened four renovated science lab classrooms, a renovated entrance and administrative office area and a new second-floor counseling center in the fall of 2011.

The last leg of the project is to be completed this summer. Six more Clover High science labs are to be renovated, bringing the total number of new science labs to 10. School officials said several of the lab classrooms have not been updated since the high school opened in 1977.