“I want my students to feel good about what they’re doing, I want my students to understand that they’re making massive contributions to our community, and I want my students to understand that what they’re doing really does matter.”

Jeff Winn teaches Wood Boat Building and Marine Technology at South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard, Washington. After college, Winn was working framing houses and enrolled in a carpenter’s apprenticeship program to improve his craft. While working on a project at a high school, he observed a group of students, fully engaged in their teacher’s instruction, and realized he wanted to teach. For three years, Winn attended school in the evenings to earn his teaching certifications. He is now the head of his department and serves on the teacher leadership team to collaborate with and learn from other teachers.

Winn utilizes targeted universalism to inform his instruction, setting universal goals for his classes but using varied strategies to meet individual needs and reach those goals. Through the Core Plus Construction and Core Plus Maritime curriculum, students earn OSHA 10, forklift training and certification and flagger certifications, have access to industry apprenticeships, and are prepared to enter the workforce. In addition to the core curriculum, Winn introduces little-known tradespeople, including a luthier, who builds and repairs stringed instruments. Students also learn Japanese carpentry and boat-building techniques used in indigenous cultures. Alumni of his program now have successful careers in cabinet making, construction in the military, and with local industry like Boeing, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and the Washington State Ferry System.

Notes of Excellence

  • In Winn’s classes, there has been a 125 percent increase in female students and a 78 percent increase in students who are underrepresented based on their socioeconomic and/or racial identification.
  • Winn’s program was recognized as a top-three exemplar career-connected learning program and visited by members of the Washington State Legislature.
  • Winn wrote curriculum, served on the steering committee, and directly partnered with statewide construction leaders to develop the first-of-its-kind building controls apprenticeship in Washington.