Floor donation helps Prairie Ridge High School revitalize auto shop program

The auto program at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake is on solid ground.

Hired as the school’s industry and careers instructor several years ago, Stiljan Agolli set out to rejuvenate the program. He’s gone from teaching a couple of small classes to instructing more than 100 students this past school year. Next year, 125 students are on the schedule.

As the program has expanded, the learning environment has become a bit worn down, especially the auto shop floor.

“It was very slippery, really beat up,” Agolli said. “It was not a good working environment for the students. If we’re training students to be professionals in the industry, they should be trained in a professional looking place.”

Fitting the entire expense of a new epoxy floor into the school’s budget seemed like an impossibility.

Seeing the need, Bryan Peckhart, the high school’s division leader for industry and careers and wellness, reached out to those he knew in the industry to help out.

“We’re always trying to get the community involved in some capacity,” Peckhart said. “We’re always looking for community partnerships.”

Friends of his, Nick Gawlik of Massachusetts-based Ruwac USA, a manufacturer of industrial vacuum systems, and Josh Jones of Morris-based Substrate Technology, a provider of floor grinding equipment, responded.

Instead of providing an estimate or suggesting people to hire, Gawlik, who works from Downers Grove, and Jones offered to donate the entire floor and do the work for free.

“I right away got excited about it because it was a good cause,” Gawlik said. “For me in high school, shop and wood class and all that was really good for me in my life. We both went to school and took those kind of classes, and we have the resources to help and here we are.”

Not only did Gawlik and Jones do the work, installing the floor this week, they invited students to work alongside them for some hands-on learning about the industry.

“We told Bryan [Peckhart] as many people as he wants to throw at us, we’ll find something to keep them busy,” Gawlik said.

The project is exactly the type of experience Agolli has sought for his students since becoming a teacher.

He’s introduced his students to professionals, brought in speakers and taken his students out into the community when possible to give them real-world experience.

Before the foor installation, the students spent two days emptying out the shop to help prepare. And several went to work again during the installation.

“We’re just excited all of this is happening,” Agolli said.