Airgas welcomes 55 schools into 2023 High School Welding Education Initiative

Airgas, an Air Liquide company in Radnor, Pa., has selected 14 returning schools and 41 new schools from 22 states to be part of its High School Welding Education Initiative for the 2023 academic year.

These programs were chosen based on four key factors: high unmet need at the school, a productive welding program with the potential to graduate job-ready welders, passionate teachers, and enthusiastic local Airgas champions.

Participating programs receive a customized mix of hands-on professional development training or continuing education for welding teachers in close collaboration with Airgas associates. In addition, the company donates welding consumables or equipment, safety PPE, and other resources to help support welding program growth within these schools.

Since 2018, Airgas has assisted 72 schools, 4,200 welding students, and nearly 450 instructors across the country. In the past two years combined, more than 250 students obtained welding jobs directly after graduating from a school program supported by the company’s donations.

The 2023 participating schools are:

• Anniston High School - Anniston, Ala.
• Barbara Jordan Career Center - Houston
• Beloit Memorial High School - Beloit, Wis.
• Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School - Anchorage, Alaska
• Buckeye Hills Career Center- Rio Grande, Ohio
• Bucksport High School - Bucksport, Maine
• Cherokee High School - Canton, Ga.
• Clarion County Career Center - Clarion, Pa.
• Clearfield County Career & Technology - Clearfield, Pa.
• Cloudland High School - Elizabethton, Tenn.
• Crescent City Junior Senior High School - Crescent City, Fla.
• Dulce High School - Dulce, N.M.
• Exeter Union High School - Exeter, Calif.
• Father Judge High School - Philadelphia
• Felicity-Franklin High School - Felicity, Ohio
• Galena Park High School - Galena Park, Texas
• Genesee Career Institute - Flint, Mich.
• Geneva Regional Tech Center - Geneva, Ala.
• Gibson Southern High School - Fort Branch, Ind.
• Hazel Park High School - Hazel Park, Mich.
• Houston County Career Academy - Dothan, Ala.
• Houston Junior Senior High School - Houston, Alaska
• Interlachen Junior Senior High School - Interlachen, Fla.
• Jeff Tech - Reynoldsville, Pa.
• Joe Redington Senior Junior Senior High School - Wasilla, Alaska
• Journeys Soaring Impact - Cincinnati
• King Kekaulike High School - Pukalani, Hawaii
• Lake Arthur High School - Lake Arthur, N.M.
• Largo High School - Largo, Fla.
• Lima Senior High School - Lima, Ohio
• Lyman High School - Longwood, Fla.
• Lyndon Institute - Lyndon Center, Vt.
• Madison Park Technical Vocational School - Boston
• Merrillville High School - Merrillville, Ind.
• Nathan Hale High School - West Allis, Wis.
• New London Community School District - New London, Iowa
• North Branch High School - North Branch, Minn.
• North Monterey County High School - Castroville, Calif.
• Olomana School - Waimanalo, Hawaii
• Owatonna Public Schools - Owatonna, Minn.
• Page High School - Page, Ariz.
• Palatka Junior Senior High School - Palatka, Fla.
• Paso Robles High School - Paso Robles, Calif.
• Razdolna School - Razdolna, Alaska
• Region Two School of Applied Technology - Houlton, Maine
• Riverside High School - Painesville, Ohio
• St. David High School - St. David, Ariz.
• Tampa Bay Tech - Tampa Bay, Fla.
• Tooele High School - Tooele, Utah
• Ventura High School - Ventura, Calif.
• Veterans Resource Center - Dallas
• Waipahu High School - Waipahu, Hawaii
• Washington County Career & Technical Education Center - Abingdon, Va.
• Weld Like A Girl - Yuma, Ariz.
• White Mountain Regional High School - Whitefield, N.H.