Students build picnic tables for outdoor classes at Wendell Krinn Technical High School

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Wendell Krinn Technical High School in Pasco County is not for the average student.

The school has programs geared toward building skilled careers like welding, mechanics, and cosmetology.

The students receive hands-on experience in their favorite field before they graduate.

And to keep kids learning, teachers have moved three classrooms outside for maximum social distance.

Principal Dr. Chris Dunning says this is not the first time the outdoor classrooms have been brought to the table.

“We have talked about outdoor classrooms before. It was something that I did at a prior school that I was at. Teachers have loved it, so what better time to put them in place,” Dunning said.

The students showed up at 7 a.m. Tuesday to start the process. The volunteers and students built 20 picnic tables to be placed in shady spots around campus.

Savannah Jacob is in the cosmetology program at Krinn Technical High School but thought she needed to be here to help.

“I know I’m in cosmetology which is a lot different than this but I like building things because I know it’s going to help out a lot of the teachers, which I think is good. It was scary at first when they were asking me to do these things and I was like, 'OK, wait, how do I do that?' But, after a while, I got used to doing those things, so it was good.”

Dr. Dunning is just happy to have all of the help making this happen for the school.

“It’s just amazing to have this group of people that come together each and every time to just make our school be the best place it can be.”

Dr. Dunning also says the outdoor classrooms will help with social distancing and will be a great way to help the students stay busy and active.