Bartlett High School and TCAT Bartlett Update

The GMMDC requested an update on Bartlett High School’s (BHS) new machine lab and TCAT Bartlett’s status.  Clark Knight, BHS, was pleased to report the students are enjoying the new Machine lab. He stated “We have 32 students enrolled in TCAT Memphis, have issued 24 NIMIS Certification and 22 Osha 10 certifications. The Bartlett High School Machining Program was awarded the Tennessee Pathways Certification. The Tennessee Pathways team represents a unique partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee Board of Regents which is anchored in our shared commitment to student success.

The GMMDC recently participating in the making of recruitment videos at Bartlett High School. Roy Smith, Executive Director of the GMMDC and Susan Wilson, Workforce Coordinator were pleased to have this opportunity to describe the opportunities and importance of a Medical Device Career.

Brad Gentry, Coordinator of Workforce Development and Operations,

TCAT – Memphis, recently stated  the following: “ We have set the tentative opening  of TCAT –Bartlett for September 1st. Applications have been submitted to THEC (Tennessee Higher Education Commission) as well as our accrediting body, COE (Council on Occupational Education) to begin operations. We are in the process of searching for the Campus Coordinator and have been receiving applications this week. Once we have our coordinator in place, we will focus on hiring the remaining faculty and staff. We have been steadily procuring equipment and furniture this spring. Our Sharp manual machines and HAAS CNC machines are set to arrive in 2 to 3 weeks. We will begin accepting student applications early summer.”

“The goal of any dual enrollment program offered by TCAT is to teach the first trimester of the program and that’s the goal at BHS as well. The first trimester represents the first 432 hours of the program. Of course, BHS has the flexibility to teach further concepts, but the goal is to knock out the first trimester. Once they enroll with TCAT they are tested to ensure they have a firm grasp of the material and award them appropriate hours. “

Subjects covered in first 432 hours:

• OSHA 10 certification
• Safety, machine guarding, hand and power tool safety, MSDS
• Lathe Operations (maintenance, grinding, sharpening bits, indicating chucks and tailstock, cutting, knurling, grooving, boring, turning, and blueprints)
• Math fundamentals (fractions, decimals, units of measurement, basics of tolerance, triangles, shop geometry, algebra, trig overview, linear instrument)
• Blue print reading
• Intro to GD&T
• Inspection
• Intro to Work holding
• Intro to Metals
• Metal Manufacturing
• Cutting Process

Brad Gentry stated: “This is not an exhaustive list but certainly an idea of what is covered in the Bartlett High School Machining program. “

TCAT recently held their annual signing day event and had 10 students from the BHS program sign an intent form to attend TCAT Bartlett and receive phone calls daily inquiring about the Machine Tool program at our new Bartlett facility.