Program Mission Statement:

The Fort Dodge Senior High School Industrial Technology Education Department is a program dedicated to help all students gain occupational skills needed for the 21st century. Students that enter this program will have the opportunity to utilize the experience of hands on experiences that will develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills. There will also be opportunities to explore career based courses in the areas of transportation, engineering, communication, manufacturing and construction technologies. Students that enter this program will have the option to explore basic courses or enter into a career based series of classes that will fall into the articulation agreement with local colleges.   

Design and Engineering: Students can take courses that teach them to use software related to design. Courses include: Intro to CAD, Advanced 3D Modeling, Architectural Modeling and Principles of CAD. Students have the opportunity to use equipment like 3D printers and CNC mills/routers. Students are also able to take independent study courses if desired. 

Construction/Building Trades: Students can take courses the provide them the opportunity to investigate and practice skills used in the world of construction. Courses include: Home Maintenance and Repair, Woodworking, Residential Wiring, Concrete, Carpentry and the Buildings and Trades class. These classes start as introductory level and grow to hands-on building of projects.

Manufacturing: Students can take courses the explore the concepts, design, and construction in the field of manufacturing. Courses include: Woods I and Woods II, Metals I and Metals II, Iowa Central Beginning Welding, Welding Fabrication and Introduction to Industrial Mechanics. These classes start with safety and basic tool knowledge and finish with projects made to blueprint specifications.

Transportation Technology: Students can take a number of courses related to automotive maintenance and repair. Courses include: Consumer Automotive where students learn the basics of car care, Ultimate Miles Per Gallon where students work together to build a high mileage vehicle, Iowa Central Intro to Auto Body where students learn to repair dents and to apply prime, paint and clear coat, and Iowa Central Brakes, Engines and Electrical (taken as a year long concurrent course) where students learn to tear down engines, repair brakes and about electrical theory and repair. 

It's official! Fort Dodge Middle School students are making sawdust in the new industrial technology program started during the 2021-22 school year. 
Students had the opportunity to tour manufacturing facilities as part of Manufacturing Month in October 2021 to learn more about the industry. 
Congratulations to the 2021 State SkillsUSA Competition winners

• Robotics Urban Search and Rescue (team): Elijah Yates and Matt Jass - Gold Medal and Taeton Moore and Fisher Novincedo - Silver Medal

• Technical Drafting: Kolby Chounthirath - Gold Medal 

• Prepared Speech: Sol Birkey - Gold Medal

Students in the department worked together to build dugouts for the FDSH softball field. The Masonry and Concrete class poured the new slabs and the Buildings and Trades class constructed the dugouts.             

In the Ultimate MPG class students designed and fabricated a new vehicle to test at the Iowa Industrial Technology Exposition at the Adventureland Park in Des Moines. 

FDSH students had a successful day at the 2019 State SkillsUSA competition. They came home with 1st place finishes and qualified for Nationals in Technical Drafting, Restaurant Service, Robotics, and Automated Manufacturing. They finished 2nd in Collision Repair and earned 3rd place finishes in Team Works, Technical Drafting and Culinary. 

The robotics team, the Dodgerbots, qualified for the 2019 State First Tech Challenge Robotics Championships for the 3rd year in a row.

Three FDSH students, Geoff Astor, Boston Gordon and Matt Jass were part of the State SkillsUSA officer team during the 2018-19 school year.  Dodgers medaled in seven events at the 2018 SkillsUSA competition.  The Dodgerbots, the FDSH robotics team, qualified for the First Tech Challenge Robotics Championships in 2018.