Students take time out for concrete lessons

Christine Carrillo

For commuters, the familiarity they have with improvements to the San

Diego and Corona del Mar freeways has come from the numerous traffic

jams they’ve found themselves in since the project’s groundbreaking

in the fall of 2001.

On Monday afternoon, wearing hard hats and vests, students from

Costa Mesa High School got a much closer look at what’s really

happening behind those concrete barriers.

It was part of an educational outreach program for local high

school students that Caltrans called “Construction Challenge 2003,”

an academic competition between Estancia and Costa Mesa high schools.

“We’re always looking for new and creative ways to reach out to

the public, and this time we said, ‘Let’s show them how [math and

science] relates to what’s going on there,’” said Sandra Friedman,

public information officer for Caltrans. “Now, when they drive by,

they’ll have more of an understanding of what’s going on.”

The improvement project, which is a combined effort by Caltrans

and the Orange County Transportation Authority, includes the widening

of the freeway, construction of various ramps, bridge structures,

sound walls as well as the installation of drainage and electrical

items.

With so much work underway, Caltrans decided to use their

construction site as a teaching aid for high school students.

Caltrans officials developed a 30-minute test of applied science

and math questions that often arise during such projects to challenge

the students’ analytical thinking.

The academic decathlon team at Costa Mesa High, the largest team

in Orange County, rose to the challenge. As the winners of the

competition, they got the chance to tour the construction site and

get a feel for how professionals apply those academic skills to real

life situations.

“I think it’s good from a career standpoint,” said Joe Havens, who

has coached the team for the past three years. “It might spark one

person to become an engineer. As teachers, we are all encouraged to

help [students] learn about different careers. ... This does that.”

For the students, the competition and the tour gave them yet

another opportunity to learn.

As a member of the academic decathlon team, “you learn how to

compete in different areas ... and you learn different methods of

study,” said Brandon Slaney, 17, a senior interested in mechanical

engineering. “This is interesting because you learn how it all comes

together.”

“I think it’s been a lot of fun, and I think the kids have got a

lot out of it, and we have gotten a lot out of it,” Friedman said.

“They are our future drivers.”

* CHRISTINE CARRILLO covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at christine.carrillo@latimes.com.