New school could bring shop classes to Henderson

The Henderson Planning Commission last week approved a conditional use permit for a trade school to be built inside the JAG Development building on Lake Mead Parkway.

The application was submitted by the Gibson McGath Foundation, an organization dedicated to teaching Henderson high school students trades skills, which said the school will enroll about 30 to 40 students per semester and hire two instructors and six volunteers.

Eddie McGath, the foundation’s director, said the project isn’t a fully fledged trade school, but more of a shop class.

The foundation plans on using space in the JAG Development building to organize a class that will teach high school students construction skills including carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

McGath and Jeff Gibson, owner of JAG Development and founder of the foundation, said the students will learn basic skills in classrooms, hear from professionals in the construction industry and will end up building tiny homes with a group of their peers by the end of the semester.

The instruction offered by the shop class can only be found elsewhere in Clark County at dedicated vocational schools or magnet schools that offer shop programs, like Northwest Career and Technical Academy, according to the Clark County School District website.

Gibson said their main goal is to introduce students to possible career paths in construction while giving them skills they can use, whether or not they make a career out of it.

Katherine Lee, associate professor in residence at UNLV’s College of Education, said hands-on courses like shop class better engage students, because more senses than just sight are used in the class.

“All the research shows that multi-sensory learning is the best way to learn, and kids have been losing that since the pandemic,” Lee said. “The more senses we can get firing together, the better, in terms of learning. They would be getting this in a shop experience.”

Lee also said anything that may spark interest in students for a possible career path is “phenomenal” for their education.

The Gibson McGath Foundation is currently working with Lake Mead Christian Academy to teach its first group of students while the space at JAG Development’s building is being prepared, according to McGath.

The foundation will work to partner with nearby schools and the school district.

Contact Mark Credico at mcredico@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Instagram @writermark2.