New Industrial Arts Teacher Introduced to Pen Argyl Teaching Staff

By: Madeline Powell

New technology education teacher at PAHS brings new elective classes like Industrial Arts 1 and Engineering Concepts. These courses are offered starting the third marking period of the 2025-2026 school year. There is anticipated excitement as Pen Argyl hasn’t had a teacher for this position in a few years. Students are able to reach out to their guidance counselor to change their schedules to take these classes and they are available even to those who may have taken them previously. 

The new teacher is Carly Kappler. She enjoys project-based learning and loves working with materials that allow both creativity and problem solving. 

Kappler said “The first thing I noticed about Pen Argyl was the community. You can get a great sense of how much everyone takes pride in their town. It feels like a place where students, faculty, and community are connected and invested. Also everyone has been so welcoming, helpful, and kind to me as I started, it is definitely a very special place.”

In coming years, Kappler hopes to introduce classes like a Digital Media Design class where students work with software in the Adobe Suite, learn about poster design and create posters, basic photography, and design different kinds of media. She would also in the future like to potentially add a full CAD class where students can blueprint out their own floor plans and houses and build physical models of their drawings.

Industrial Arts classes generally focus on hands-on practical skill development in design, manufacturing, and construction. Students can expect to use wood processing machinery like a planer, table saw, band saw, as well as hand tools such as drills, sanders, tape measures, etc. In Industrial Arts class you can expect to see projects like cutting boards, step stools, shelves, and boxes. The addition of CAD including 3D design so students can 3D print and 2D design for house floor plans, and in electronics where students can solder together kits and use online simulators to create circuits, is hoped to be later introduced.

Engineering Concepts is a course designed to prepare students for college-level engineering. Students will experience 8 different branches of engineering through STEM based activities. Engineering Concepts classes generally introduce students to different engineering processes and apply skills in math and science. Projects  STEM activities which can vary from Rube Goldberg machines, tower structures, and bottle rockets, just to name a few. In Engineering Concepts class a lot of mock-up materials such as cardboard, plastics, and recyclables but we also have cool technology like robots, propulsion systems, and structural testers are used.

Kappler said “I obviously want my students to have an understanding on how to safely and efficiently use machinery and tools, but more importantly I want them to learn life skills that anyone can use even if they never use a piece of machinery again. Skills like problem solving, using creativity, critical thinking, etc.”

These classes offer new opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience and knowledge in these fields, whether it's something they want to study in college or something they’d like to take for fun. They are also different from other classes and traditional electives because of the hands-on environment.