Utica Shale Academy Receives Equipment Donation from Former Sammis Site

     SALINEVILLE-Utica Shale Academy is building its learning arsenal with an equipment donation from the former W.H. Sammis Plant in Stratton.

     USA Superintendent Bill Watson said Bryan Donatelli, project manager of B&B Wrecking and Excavating of Cleveland, was handling the dismantling of the Energy Harbor-owned, coal-fired power plant which was idled in July and donated $132,400 worth of items from the site. Among them were a transmitter calibration unit, eight sets of lockers, jib cranes, six toolboxes, ceiling mounts for training monitors, a training station, electrical training modules, training tables, two conference tables, small circular tables, 10 eight-foot tables, fire extinguishers in wall cabinets, an internal pump trainer, executive desks, training gear, chairs, heavy equipment hydraulic testing equipment, heavy equipment tools, a cabinet, welder generators for the heavy equipment course and various valves, gauges, parts, electrical leads and more for industrial maintenance training.

     Watson said he learned of the items’ availability through the parent of a student who worked with the demolition crew. He reached out to the company and B&B Wrecking graciously offered items which were not included in the pending auction for liquidation. He submitted a letter requesting a partnership opportunity to support future generations, saying it would benefit students specializing in such trades as welding, heavy equipment, industrial maintenance and robotics.

      “Considering the recent closure of the W.H. Sammis Power Plant, we find ourselves presented with a unique opportunity to turn a moment of transition into a catalyst for positive change. We are reaching out to B&B officials with a proposal to donate items from the plant that would be invaluable to our training programs,” he wrote. “Such a donation would not only enhance the practical learning experiences of our students but also symbolize a meaningful investment in the future workforce of our community. [The items] range from specialized equipment for our trade courses to office furniture that would enrich our learning spaces.”

      He added that the collaboration demonstrates the transformative impact of converting the challenges of today into the education milestones of tomorrow and was an affirmation of how community-focused initiatives can cultivate a skilled workforce ready to usher in a new era of job creation and economic growth. Officials also sought to purchase a small skid steer, forklift and JLG lift to bolster the community school’s training capabilities and ensure students had a real hands-on education.

     Watson and USA administrators and instructors took advantage of a professional development day in February and traveled to Stratton to collect the items. He said the group made three trips with trucks and received permission from Southern Local Superintendent Tom Cunningham to use the Southern Local High School Mighty Indians Marching Band truck to help with the haul.

     He said the furniture was added to the newly added Williams Collaboration Center, formerly the Williams Energy District Office in Salineville, which will be used for administrative offices and classrooms for seventh- and eighth-grade students and potential programming with Youngstown State University. Watson was grateful to the company for their contribution and said it will greatly assist in training students for future industrial careers.

     In addition to the Williams Collaboration Center, USA utilizes the Hutson Building and USA’s Energy Training Center also along Main Street, with the latter formerly serving as a Huntington Bank location, and an outdoor welding lab plus the Utica Shale Academy Community Center at the former Destiny House Church on Church Street. Watson said plans are in the works to expand the community school at the Williams building and include junior high students and career-tech opportunities. The program currently includes 190 pupils in grades 9-12 who take part in a blended learning format with hands-on and online training, but the junior high expansion could boost enrollment to 350 students on the roster. Enrollment gets underway March 18 and extends through summer for the 2024-25 term.

      Leaders plan to include a heavy equipment classroom as well as build an addition for heavy equipment training and diesel mechanics at the Energy Training Center. USA collaborates with the Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) program through the Jefferson County Educational Service Center while the Energy Training Center works in partnership with YSU and offers industrial maintenance programming for megatronics, hydraulics, pneumatics, AC/DC electric, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC’s), diesel mechanics and horticulture to train both students and adults, plus students gain experience at the outdoor welding lab adjacent to the Hutson Building. Plans remain on the drawing board for a two-story building next to the welding lab for classrooms, machinery, virtual welding equipment, lockers and restrooms for students working with heavy equipment operation and CNC plasma cutting. Additionally, the community center houses a gym in the basement with community services available on the main floor.

      Now in its 10th year, USA is a dropout recovery-and-retention school focusing on career-tech education for at-risk students who have obtained more than 1,100 certifications since 2021. Further plans include providing potential recovery-to-work efforts to help recovering drug addicts, people with chronic health issues or facing legal challenges and adult education classes would be open to residents within the four-county region to help them find new opportunities in the workforce. It has also partnered with the Mahoning County Pathways HUB to hire community health workers, or CHW’s, who use evidence-based strategies to obtain health services for students and their families. The Connecting Communities through Workforce Training project is a transformational change that will reduce regional poverty and improve the regional standard of living. For more information, contact (330) 942-4812 or go online to www.uticashaleschool.com.