Students at Bonanza Jr/Sr High School are taking classes this year in a renovated shop with new state-of-the-art equipment — including:

  • Nine welding booths
  • A CNC plasma machine
  • A laser engraver
  • A ShopBot CNC router
  • New construction tools
  • An updated small project / drafting room

How Bonanza Got Here

Last year, the school was awarded two major grants:

  • $250,000 from the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) — to revitalize its Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs
  • $228,000 from the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) Future Ready Oregon — to start a pre-apprenticeship construction and carpentry program

The funds were used to:

  • Purchase the much-needed equipment that brings the shop up to current industry standards
  • Renovate the interior of the decades-old shop building
  • Redesign the shop floor plan for better use of space
  • Create a small woodshop in one dedicated section

What Students Are Learning Now

This school year, students are reaping the benefits — learning workplace-ready skills to use industry-standard equipment and tools.

Advanced Manufacturing in Action

In an advanced manufacturing class last week, students spent time figuring out how to program computer software to operate the new equipment — exactly the kind of practical, problem-solving CTE work that produces graduates ready for real apprenticeships and entry-level positions in skilled trades.

The students aren't just learning to use the tools. They're learning to program the tools, troubleshoot them, maintain them, and adapt their workflows to new equipment as it's deployed. That's the actual skill set the modern skilled trades require.

Pre-Apprenticeship Pathway

The BOLI grant funded the launch of Bonanza's two-year pre-apprenticeship program in construction and carpentry — covered in detail in the February 2024 issue of Klamath Living.

That program is structured so that students who complete it leave Bonanza with a pre-apprenticeship certificate — a meaningful credential that gives them a head start in entering formal trade-union apprenticeship programs or being hired directly into trades employers.

Enrollment

Overall, more than 100 Bonanza students are enrolled in one of the six ag mechanic and construction courses offered at the school.

For a school of Bonanza's size, that enrollment is significant. It reflects:

  • Student interest — rural Klamath kids see real career pathways in the skilled trades and want to prepare for them
  • Community demand — the basin's construction, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors need workers, and Bonanza's pipeline is part of how that workforce gets developed
  • Principal Jordan Osborn's leadership — his commitment to building Bonanza's CTE program is paying off in measurable ways

The 100% Graduation Context

This investment in CTE infrastructure pairs with another major Bonanza story from earlier in 2024: the 100% graduation rate for the Class of 2023.

When a school can demonstrate:

  • Every student graduates
  • Over 60% of seniors are interested in skilled trades
  • Industry-standard equipment is available
  • Pre-apprenticeship credentials are part of the diploma package

— that's a CTE-track school doing the work the way the work should be done.

The Statewide Picture

Bonanza isn't alone in this work. Mazama, Henley, Lost River, and Chiloquin all have growing CTE programs — and KCC sits on top of the K-12 pipeline as the regional community-college partner.

The result: a Klamath County K-16 CTE ecosystem that's becoming nationally relevant for rural-Oregon workforce development.

For students considering whether to invest in trades preparation versus four-year college, Bonanza now offers a credible answer: the trades pathway here is real, well-equipped, and connected to actual employment.

The Wider Bonanza Story

Combined with:

  • The new $16M+ gymnasium that opened October 2024
  • The pre-apprenticeship construction program launched 2024
  • The shop renovation and equipment upgrade detailed here
  • A 100% graduation rate for the Class of 2023
  • Two-year grant totals of $1.4 million over the last two years

— Bonanza is making a sustained statement that rural Klamath County kids deserve facilities, programs, and outcomes equal to any school in the state.

Thank You

To Principal Jordan Osborn, the Bonanza CTE instructors, the KCSD facilities team, the school board, the grant-writers, and every community member who advocated for these investments — thank you.

To the Bonanza students using the new equipment every week: take it seriously. The skills you're building right now translate directly into careers that will support you, your families, and the basin for decades to come.

The basin is investing in you. Don't waste it.

And to the rest of Klamath County: when you need a welder, a carpenter, a CNC operator, or a tradesperson — the next generation is being trained right here in Bonanza. Hire local. Keep the talent.