Education and youth programs

See our Multimedia page

See a slideshow of our youth education program

The Center is a Private Alternative Education Program registered with the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). We can provide these services to our community due to a unique provision in Oregon law. This legislation, passed in the late 70’s, allows programs such as ours to receive public funding, (80% of ADM), from local school districts.

We are also registered with ODE as a GED Option Program which prepares students to take the GED test.

Student profiles
Our students are aged 12-19 and come from many backgrounds. They are at various levels of academic skills and are inclined to be hands-on learners.

Pedagogy
The pedagogy is very much multi-age/ multi skills. We try whenever possible to mix academics with our shop and office environments. We emphasize entrepreneurship and business. We are non-biased in our view of outcomes and are specifically focused on inspiring youth to love to learn—for their whole life. Individual and group research projects draw students into the world of learning through subjects that are relevant to the skills they build here at CAT.

We are like a one room classroom in that we have a 1-6 teacher-student ratio. We run a 3-hour AM class and a 3-hour PM class. Class time is very organized and we expect a lot. Every Friday is a special projects day—youth get to work on a bike building project, a sewing project or a multimedia project... to name but a few.

Above all, we provide a very supportive environment for students. We touch base at the beginning and end of each class and instructors meet frequently with students on an informal basis.

Our offerings include:

Bike lab
A program that teaches teens a comprehensive understanding of bicycle maintenance and repair. Located in CAT’s Eugene Bicycle Works shop, Bike Lab provides participants a working knowledge of the use of bicycle tools along with the principles of physics and geometry as they relate to frame design and wheel building.

Metalworking/Bicycle frame building
This comprehensive program involves students in the workings of a production shop for the Human Powered Machines line of bicycles and trailers and the Eugene Rack Works line of bicycle parking fixtures. Students can learn the entire process of building a bicycle or rack, from cutting the tubes to powdercoating and assembling the finished product. Emphasis is placed on invention and entrepreneurship, safety, teamwork, and producing a marketable product.

CAD/CAM
A program designed to introduce computer aided mechanical design, drafting, and manufacturing skills to those who have an interest in pursuing a career in industry.

Industrial sewing
Design and manufacture of rain gear, custom bicycle seats, and other projects. Students learn how to create a project from conception, through development and testing, to a finished product.

Skinner City Farm
CAT partners with Skinner City Farm, a community garden project, to provide an agriculturally-based program which teaches students about sustainable practices. Farmers, tradespeople, ecologists and historians bring real-world experience to the curriculum.

GED/Academics
For those interested in earning a GED certificate, we are a GED Option program certified by the Oregon Department of Education. Individualized attention focuses on subject areas that need improvement, and whenever possible, students work together to achieve goals. For many students who learn through hands-on work, this is the most efficient way for them to achieve their academic goals.

Multimedia
This program provides real-world writing and journalism experience through the forum of Oregon Cycling Magazine, which has a circulation of over 13,000 throughout the state. Students write articles, conduct interviews, create art and produce the final layout with computers. Their work brings them into contact with bicycle professionals from around the state and nation. Check out the students' multimedia page for some examples of their work.

Field Trips
Field trips are a periodic feature of our programs. We visit bicycle shops, fabrication facilities, sewing operations, art studios and related places of interest.