Teacher in Colorado’s high country honored for dual language welding classes

A Colorado teacher was recently recognized for his dedication to his students, regardless of what their primary language is.

Oakley Van Oss works at Summit High School in Breckenridge and specializes in welding and construction. He teaches practical job skills with everyday applications to students in both English and Spanish.

For Van Oss, it doesn’t matter what you would expect a welder would look like, or what language they would speak.

“You probably notice that we have a lot of ladies in here and they are kicking some serious butt, doing a great job for us,” Van Oss said.

In his workshop, if you’re willing to put in the work, you’re a part of the team.

“He’s like, ‘You come here, you work hard, you clean up and you show up.’ And that’s how this class is. And it gives a completely different feeling to the rest of the classes here,” student Lucas Navratil said.

It’s that attitude, paired with the real world skills he’s teaching kids, that won the high school in Summit County $35,000 thanks to the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. Van Oss also received $15,000.

Van Oss is one of around 900 teachers that applied around the country and 25 were selected.

His students know it’s well deserved.

“Nothing you do in this class will ever feel like a mistake,” Navratil said. “You’ll always be coached through it and he will always make you feel like there’s a way to fix it. He’ll tell you exactly how to fix it.”

Van Oss says the students in his class for whom English is a second language excel when they hear lessons in their own langauge.

“It’s a real honor to be able to teach these classes in Spanish. It teaches them some really unique vocab that they can use at on job sites,” Van Oss said. “It’s not like everything’s in English going over their heads, but they’re actually understanding. They’re learning along with everybody else.”

While the prize money is appreciated, it’s the everyday prize that really matters: building a better future for his students –one weld at a time.

“It makes me feel like I’m doing something that’s unique and that’s valued, that my larger community, the United States, is into what we’re doing here in this small community of Summit County. And I just have a lot of pride in what I do and who I teach,” Van Oss said.