4T Academy Juniors at Putnam Career and Technical Center display the fruit of their labor to PCTC staff and Toyota Team Leaders on Friday, May 2nd.

The 4T Academy program at Putnam Career and Technical Center is special. The 2-year program is designed to provide high school juniors and seniors the knowledge and skills necessary to work on a production manufacturing line, as well as to be able to diagnose and fix common issues found on the machinery in a manufacturing facility. The name 4T stands for Team, Teach, Together, Toyota.

The 4T curriculum includes classes on manufacturing, engineering, computer science, precision machining, industrial automation & robotics, industrial maintenance and environmental sustainability. As a part of the program, students participate in hands-on job training at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia.

Students attend classes three days a week at PCTC and classes two days a week at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Buffalo during their Junior year and the first semester of their Senior year. The classes at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing WV plant are all about job instruction. During the second semester of their Senior year, students receive $16 an hour for working four days a week at the plant in Buffalo.

The Junior year curriculum features a capstone project in which students must develop parts list, create their own directional guides, and produce a manufactured item. The item of manufacture selected this school year was the bicycle.

On Friday, May 2, 4T Academy Juniors presented the 12 bicycles which they produced to PCTC staff members and Toyota Team Leaders. The 12 bikes were gifted to Mission WV to support kids in the local area.

Mission WV, headquartered in Hurricane, is tasked with leading a statewide effort to promote positive futures for all kids in West Virginia. Mission WV works alongside families as they navigate West Virginia’s foster care system and works in collaboration with social services, school districts, private foster care agencies and other nonprofits to produce brighter futures for West Virginia.