Industry chips in for Wauwatosa high school trades program

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Schools across the state are facing a budget crunch and are having to get creative to keep their programs running. With support from the Wisconsin construction industry, a skilled trades program at a Milwaukee-area high school will continue preparing future apprentices.

After a change to the full-time equivalency allotment, or how much work a staff member will complete in a school year, of the math teacher position in the Construction Capstone program at Wauwatosa East High School, a group of union and non-union contractors made a financial donation to keep the program running.

In November 2025, the Wauwatosa School Board approved an agreement with the NARI Milwaukee Foundation to receive $60,000 over the next three years and maintain the full-time positions for instructors in math for the trades and construction courses.

The capstone program teaches high school students trades such as HVAC and plumbing, with the help of at least a dozen industry partners. Students at Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West high schools and from some schools in the School District of Elmbrook use the program to take the skills with them to a Registered Apprenticeship or Youth Apprenticeship recognized by the state.

Next week, the school will celebrate its sixth annual industry signing day where nearly 40 high school juniors and seniors will sign with contractors and unions of their choice as youth apprentices or registered apprentices.

For students, a math course is critical to getting into the highly competitive state Registered Apprenticeship program, according to industry experts.

In March, there were around 224,000 job openings in the U.S. construction industry, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median age of construction workers is more than 40 years old and the industry continues to struggle with recruitment.

Under the agreement, the district will direct one FTE allotment, enough to support one staff member, to teach math for the trades course and construction course for three years until it expires at the end of the 2027-28 school year.

The partnership allowed the district to continue offering its skilled trades program in the same format, a spokesperson for the Wauwatosa School District said.

Math and construction trades need funding priority, industry says

Jess Cannizzaro of Wauwatosa-based Milestone Plumbing, Jack Golatke of Wauwatosa-based Story Hill Renovations and Jack Schirpke of Total Mechanical approached the school district about supporting the capstone program.

“The three of us worked together to explore what solutions could look like,” Cannizzaro said. “We approached the school district and had a positive conversation around, ‘We’re here, we’d like to be a part of helping to figure out a way to keep this best in class and not have it be altered,’ and the district was extremely receptive.”

The three approached the National Association of the Remodeling Industry – Milwaukee, an association widely made of remodeling and commercial construction companies, and the NARI Milwaukee Foundation, the association’s charitable organization. The association has both union and non-union members.

“The NARI Milwaukee Foundation is proud to support educational partnerships that introduce students to meaningful career pathways within the skilled trades, construction, remodeling, and related industries,” said Greg Adamec, president of the Milwaukee NARI Foundation. “Our involvement with the Wauwatosa School District (WSD) reflects our ongoing commitment to workforce development, career readiness, and community engagement. Furthermore, our work with the WSD has inspired the Foundation to explore how we can support more schools, districts, and individuals throughout Wisconsin.”

“We wanted to make sure it was something where everyone was apart of it, and that it was overseen by a board that can make sure decisions are made with fiduciary responsibility,” Cannizzaro added.

There were workarounds for the math component of registered apprenticeship such as a supplementary ACT score, but basic math skills are still important for working in the trades.

“Those apprenticeships aren’t easy to get into … so having that math experience is important to having that opportunity,” Cannizzaro said.

Now that the agreement is signed, the onus is on the industry to show the quality of life that students achieve in the trades after they graduate from the program.

“These are good, well-respected jobs and opportunities and something for us to pay attention to and protect,” Cannizzaro said. “This is something worth fighting for by making sure we prioritize it with funding in the future.”

The industry signing day will take place Wednesday, May 27, from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Wauwatosa East High School woodshop.