ABOVE: Fairmont HVAC instructor Adam Carstensen demonstrates a new piece of training equipment at Fairmont High School. This piece of equipment is one of many which will be used in a new intermediate level HVAC course which will be taught at the school during the upcoming school year.

FAIRMONT– The HVAC program at Fairmont High School is nearing the conclusion of its first year and instructor Adam Carstensen is already in the process of expanding it for the upcoming school year.

The creation of the program was made possible by the new HVAC and plumbing lab in the high school’s vocational expansion along with collaboration with local HVAC businesses to address a shortage of skilled professionals in the area.

The introductory course was primarily taught in a more typical classroom environment, but later classes will utilize even more skills-based learning. In next year’s Principles of HVAC class, students will spend more time working with the program’s simulator units and a planned third level course expected to be introduced in the 2024-2025 school year would have students perform work study with local HVAC businesses and potentially study larger and more specialized commercial HVAC systems.

While later courses are aimed more so towards students interested into going into HVAC professionally, Carstensen described the introductory course as a home-related equivalent to an automotive maintenance class.

“It’s just like a car; you have an oil change, after taking Intro to Auto now you can do that oil change. (You can) save yourself some money, but it also enhances the lifespan of that unit,” said Carstensen.

HVAC units are complicated pieces of equipment and their maintenance and repair involves drawing upon different areas of knowledge including plumbing, metalworking, electrical systems and mechatronics. This year students in HVAC courses received instruction from other technical education teachers, while students in other technical education courses used the a portion of the HVAC program’s equipment to assist in their area of study.

This year 50 students registered for the program’s introductory course, filling up sections in both semesters. Next year 35 students are registered to take the introductory course and another 16 are enrolled for the new advanced course. Carstensen said students are interested in the program because it allows them to work directly in a variety of different areas and develop useful skills.

“Not many students know about it and they’re curious about what it is. Growing up I never heard the term HVAC. I took for granted what cooling was and heat was. Students are given this description of a class that answers all of those questions and curiosities and things you take for granted. I think that’s what causes kids to sign up,” said Carstensen.

During the creation of the program Fairmont had no existing high school HVAC program to use as a template and had to develop the curriculum for each course from scratch. Carstensen, who previously worked in welding, said he’s relied on advice from area professionals and instructors at post-secondary institutions to develop the introductory course. To better prepare for the creation of the curriculum for next year’s class, Carstensen is currently planning to attend a seven day industry course in Wisconsin.

He said over the course of the program’s first year the introductory course proved to be largely successful, and between the first and second semesters he was able to solidify a sequence of instruction.

“Obviously I’ll be updating and changing materials as I see fit, making it more interesting and engaging but I think we found a pretty good rhythm going into the second year,” said Carstensen.

Throughout the year the program also received deliveries of additional equipment including more simulators and training equipment.

Lucas Mosloski is a Fairmont freshman who’s currently taking the introductory HVAC course. He said he registered for the course because he was interested in being able to learn about plumbing and electrical systems in the same class.

“It’s a really fun course and you get do to hands on stuff all the time,” said Mosloski.

Mosloski said he plans to take the second level HVAC course and is considering a career in the field. One student who participated in the program has already accepted a summer job in Wilmar working with commercial HVAC systems.

While some students may be able to find a job in HVAC systems with only their high school instruction, Carstensen is also working on finding a way for the courses to fulfill training requirements at post-secondary institutions. While he expects courses will be able to transfer eventually, he noted the originality of the program means it will still take some time to create a pathway.

“Nobody else is doing it, so we’re having to pave the way as we go along,” said Carstensen.