Each year, Elbert School District 200 Superintendent Kelli Thompson enjoys handing diplomas to the newest crop of high school graduates. But last month she took particular joy in congratulating two Elbert seniors, because a year ago she was sure that they were on the road to becoming dropouts.

“If you had asked me last year, I would have never thought I’d be handing a diploma to these boys,” Thompson said of Aaron Murphy and Cameron Meade. “In fact, one of them told me, ‘The day I turn 17, you’ll never see me again.’”

But Murphy and Meade stayed the course and graduated, in large part due to a new career-based course that kept them engaged throughout their senior year.

Pikes Peak Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) launched its inaugural heavy equipment operator course at the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year. The course, initially made available to eight rural districts that make up a large portion of eastern El Paso County and well beyond, combines classroom instruction, simulator training and live driving sessions to help participating students become certified heavy equipment operators.

Twelve students, including Meade and Murphy, participated in the initial course.

“All this came together with a $2 million grant from the (Colorado Department of Education’s) Rural Coaction Program,” said Pat Bershinsky, executive director of Pikes Peak BOCES. “Without that, and the cooperation of the district superintendents, this never would have happened.”

The Rural Coaction Program is a CDE initiative designed to help expand career pathway opportunities for rural students, Bershinsky said.

Conducted in partnership with local labor union leadership, the heavy equipment course was taught on Monday in order to accommodate the greatest number of students. Big Sandy, Calhan, Elbert, Fremont, Hanover and Miami-Yoder school districts have a Tuesday-Friday school week, which made it easier for the students to attend on Mondays.

“Mondays were a problem for the Ellicott and Peyton kids because they’re in school on Mondays,” Bershinsky said.

“That’s why it was so important to get all the superintendents on board, to agree to let these kids out of class to work on the machines and simulators, and to award credit when possible in order to keep these kids on track to graduate.”

Murphy said he had essentially decided to forgo his senior year when he heard about the course.

“When I started senior year I thought, ‘This isn’t for me,’” he said. “Then I heard about this course, and I thought it was interesting. It helped me to stay in school.”

Meade, who was also considering dropping out, said the program dovetailed with some of his favorite pastimes.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do before I heard about this program,” Meade said. “But I like machines, and I like playing in the dirt, so this was perfect for me,.”

Murphy and Meade recently got the chance to put their newly acquired skills to good use. Using BOCES-provided equipment, they cleared a large space next to the Elbert High School track-and-field area to create a parking lot.

“Two months ago, that space was mostly heavy brush and poison ivy, with a large marshy hole,” Bershinsky said.

“They took an area that wasn’t usable and turned it into a parking lot that can be used for the Black Forest League track meets. There’s no telling how much money it saved the school district; it had to be thousands. And the boys got a lot of experience doing it.”

“It was a lot of work,” Murphy said. “But it was fun.”

The course is one of several that Bershinsky hopes to offer at Pikes Peak Education Park, a proposed 86-acre vocational training campus to be located on an existing BOCES property near the intersection of Judge Orr and Elbert roads, just east of Falcon. The El Paso County Planning Commission approved the location last year, and BOCES is in the process of acquiring the necessary funding. When completed, the trade school will offer multiple vocational courses including construction, cybersecurity, criminal justice and 911 operator training.

Bershinsky said there has been increased interest in the heavy equipment course, and that he is considering holding two sessions a week in the 2025-2026 academic year.

Thompson said she believes the course will help more students like Murphy and Meade to forge a path toward a well-paying trade.

“Those boys are both now highly employable, and they’ll be able to do something with their lives,” she said. “They’ll probably make more money than me.”