HARDWICK, Vt. (WCAX) – Students in Hardwick are busy building bikes as part of a tech program at Hazen Union High School. Hazen Union’s bike tech course kicked off last school year and is in full swing right now.
This doesn’t look like your typical first-period class in high school. “It’s nice to kind of pick things apart and learn how they work.”
Jasper Regan, Andrew Crytzer, Ty Metevier are well-practiced in pedaling thanks to a semester-long bicycle mechanic class. “If anything ever happens out on the trail I can I can fix it.”
Maxfield English’s bike mechanic class at Hazen Union houses up to ten students a semester with the chance to tinker with tools. It’s grant-funded and supported by an organization called Project Bike Tech which sent the students the tools, workbenches, and bikes.
“It’s kind of a mix and then the students bring in their own bicycle suit, which is even better, so they get to learn what makes their bike work and how to fix it,” said English.
“I learned how to take tires off, de-rim them then put the rims back on. I learned the brakes. I learned a lot about headsets that I didn’t know. Bearings. There was a whole bunch of stuff I didn’t actually know what it was,” said ninth-grade Andrew Crytzer
With the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail complete, trails right on Hazen Union’s property, and outdoor activity galore it’s safe to say it’s a biking community.
And it’s not just quizzes and tests for the students. The class is serving as the only bike mechanic in Hardwick for community members. The closest other options are in Morrisville or Burke.
“It gives them a sense of ownership and community, knowing that they did something to help a community member and improve access to fitness and transportation for some people,” said English.
English says there are murmurings of a bike shop opening in town. With students already putting bike tech on their resume, the proof is in the pudding, showing CTE employees are needed and wanted as early as during or after high school. “Probably a fair amount of my students are going to go into the trades. And I think the skills they learn in here are transferable to pretty much anything like troubleshooting, diagnosing, and then repairing and working with other people.”
English says there’s also a level 2 component of bike mechanics he’d love to bring into the school with skills like wheel building.