Cuda named National C-T-E Teacher of the Year
January 7, 2008 – Frank Cuda, a Wakefield High School construction technologies teacher, has been named the National Trade and Industrial Education Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Association for Career and Technical Education. |
While the association announced Cuda’s award at their national convention, he found out about it later when WCPSS CTE Director David Rockefeller, Wakefield principal Mark Savage and Cuda’s mother, wife and children arrived at his classroom to congratulate him.
“I was stunned by that,” said Cuda who was earlier recognized as the Vocational Educator of the Year by the Triangle Chapter of the Professional Construction Estimators Association. “I’m pleased they did this for me, but I’m shocked at the same time.”
Cuda has been teaching for nine years. It was a second career that began when the Wakefield High School campus first opened as home to students and faculty from Sanderson High. When Sanderson moved back to its renovated campus, Cuda became a part of the new Wakefield High staff. He was teaching part-time in the morning, managing his construction company during the day and going to school at night to earn his teacher license.
Cuda was recognized as he graduated from his Connecticut high school for his skills in carpentry and construction and went to work building homes. One of the highlights of his building career was an addition he built matching the original architecture of a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home in New Canaan, Connecticut.
In his construction class at Wakefield High, Cuda helps students prepare for a career in construction and develop carpentry skills. They start with simple projects. A first step is making a clown who will roll between two curved bars. It teaches students to work on a large electrical band saw. Later, they use hand tools to construct a lamp that looks like an old time hand pump for a well.
“And talk about frustrating, when they started with a big power tool and then they’ve got to do hand tools, it’s like what?” said Cuda. “By the time they get done, that lamp becomes one of the most prized possessions they’ve ever owned.”
Cuda then has students work in teams with a project leader. They build model homes to scale. All information for their work flows through their project leader, just like working on a real construction team. Students rotate every week as project leader.
Cuda became a teacher at the urging of his wife who had seen him devote his life to working with children.
“I originally started out in life being a scout master, coaching little league and working with kids in being a youth leader in my church,” said Cuda. “I’ve always enjoyed working with kids. My wife told me that I was really talented at that and someday you should do that. I thought someday. Then they opened this school five minutes from my house. My wife said why don’t you try this.”
His decision to become a teacher has impacted students who have gone on to East Carolina University to major in construction management. Cuda sees them as future construction supervisors building homes, offices and roadways.
“There is a number of things they could do out there right now,” said Cuda. “I attended a conference in Greensboro this past summer and talked with a man from Arkansas. He said they could find zero construction managers. They are hiring people directly out of high school and training them and starting them at $40,000 right out of high school. From there, they can work into a six figure income.”
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