What to Ask Electrician Technical Schools<\/strong><\/h3>\nWhen you have made a decision to earn a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to narrow down your school options. Since there are numerous electrician tech and trade schools in the Towanda IL region, it’s imperative to have a checklist of qualifications that each school must meet. The first 2 that we discussed were location and tuition expense. If you are interested in earning an degree online, then that must be a feature that your chosen school offers. And even though all three qualifiers may be important when making your selection, there are other factors that must be considered also. Following is a checklist of those added qualifications that you will need to assess prior to selecting an electrical trade school.<\/p>\n
Accreditation. <\/strong>Many electrician trade schools have received either a regional or a national accreditation. They may earn Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs overall, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to a specific program, for instance electrical technology. Make certain that the Towanda IL school is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, for example the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping ensure that you obtain a quality education, it may assist in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are frequently unavailable for non-accredited programs. Furthermore, a number of states require that the electrician training course be accredited in order to be approved for licensing.<\/p>\nHigh Completion and Placement Rates. <\/strong>Ask the electrician schools you are reviewing what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage or portion of students who enroll in and finish the course. A low completion rate may indicate that students were unhappy with the course and dropped out. It could also suggest that the instructors were not qualified to train the students. It’s also imperative that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and\/or more reputable schools may have a broader directory of graduates, which may mean more contacts for the school to utilize for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate can not only confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of contacts to help Towanda IL students secure apprenticeships or jobs.<\/p>\nApprenticeship Programs. <\/strong>A large number of electrician technical programs are taught in conjunction with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating vocational and technical programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program within their network of electrical businesses or trade unions. Ask if the schools you are considering have working partnerships with Towanda IL area electricians or electrical companies. An apprenticeship not only provides a rewarding experience by providing practical training, but it also furnishes job opportunities and helps to build relationships in the regional electrician professional community.<\/p>\nModern Facilities. <\/strong>Make sure that the school facilities and the equipment that you will be instructed on are state-of-the-art and what you will be working with in the field. If you are presently in an internship or an apprenticeship, check with the electrical technician you are working under regarding what you should be expecting. If not, ask a local Towanda IL electrical contractor if they can provide some tips. Also keep in mind that unless you are able to move, the school needs to be within commuting distance of your Towanda home. Remember that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, in addition to moving costs there can be higher tuition charges compared to in-state residents.<\/p>\nSmaller Classes. <\/strong>It’s important that you get as much personalized training as possible, which can be difficult in larger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of the classes so that you can observe how large they are and witness first hand the interaction between students and instructors. Talk to some of the students and get their comments relating to class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk with a few of the teachers and find out what their level of expertise is and what degrees or certifications they hold.<\/p>\nFlexible Scheduling. <\/strong>Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are assessing are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evening or on weekends near Towanda IL, verify that the programs you are considering provide those options. If you can only attend part-time, be sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Additionally, ask what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family responsibilities.<\/p>\nConsidering Attending an Electrician School near Towanda IL?<\/h3>\n
Following is a little bit of background information about the Towanda IL area.<\/p>\n
Towanda, Illinois<\/h3>
Towanda, Illinois, was named for Towanda in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. The land on which Towanda stands was first entered by Charles Badeau who had graduated from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, in 1840, and was employed as the assistant to the chief engineer of what was then the Alton and Springfield Railroad.[3] Because in Illinois at that time it was illegal for railroads or their officials to establish new towns, much of the land was then transferred to two McLean County real estate developers Jesse W. Fell (November 10, 1808 \u2013 February 22, 1887) and Charles W. Holder (September 29, 1819 - April 30, 1900). These two men laid out the town of Towanda and filed the plat on December 7, 1854.[4] Jesse W. Fell, a native of Chester County in southeastern Pennsylvania, was a widely known land dealer in Central Illinois who played major role in founding many Illinois towns including Clinton, Dwight, Normal, Pontiac, and who was the driving force behind the establishment of the school that would become Illinois State University [5] Holder was linked with Fell in many of his town founding schemes including Normal and Larchwood in Lyon County, Iowa; the McLean County town of Holder is named in his honor. Fell association with the railroad goes back to the time when it was surveyed. On at least two occasions he was able to alter the path of the railroad to suit his own interests: organizing a bend in the road so it would pass through his town of Normal[6] and making a slight change in the survey so it would pass through the Livingston County town of Pontiac, where he had interests rather than the rival town of Richmond.[7] Shortly after Towanda was laid out most of the land was back in the hands of the railroad's land agent English-born Charles Roadnight (1814-?). Roadnight built the first warehouse in Towanda; he settled in Bloomington, had a farm in Dwight, and in 1858 later became treasurer of what was then the Chicago and Alton Railroad.[8]<\/p>
Central Illinois towns of the 1830s, such as Bloomington, Lexington, Leroy and Pontiac, were usually built around a central square. In contrast, most towns of the 1850s, like Towanda, were oriented toward the railroad tracks. In the case of Towanda a diagonal main street was established parallel to the railroad, with the main building lots on only one side; the effect was to have the commercial establishments look across the street toward the tracks.[9] This was a common design in newly established towns along the Chicago and Alton Railroad and may be found, with slight variations, in places like Dwight, Gardner, Odell and Mclean; Fell's town of Normal, established at the same time as Towanda, was to have had exactly the same arrangement; except that in Normal, the original street paralleling the railroad, quickly lost its importance to the reverse side of the block. This standard town plan often left town designers with odd triangular pieces of land, where the diagonal street met with other streets which were aligned north-south or east-west. These triangles are often still in public hands. In the case of Towanda, Fell gave each of two triangular areas, one on either side of the tracks, to the town. On the Original deed they were given the name \"plaza\" and both have always served the city as parks.[10]<\/p>
Alex Warren built the first residence in the new town and James Alexander the first warehouse. These were soon followed by Wesley Bishop's grocery and Frank Henderson's dry goods store.[11] The largest building was a two-story structure built by Charles Roadnight, which was fifty by one hundred feet; the first floor was used for stores and the second as a meeting toom. It burned about 1900.[12] In 1873-1874, wooden sidewalks were being built, followed by brick sidewalks in 1891, and concrete walkways in 1916. The town was officially incorporated in 1870. The first jail was built in the North Park and replaced at least once; the structure can not have been very substantial because in 1901 the town fathers were forced to appoint a committee to inquire into what had happened to the jail.[13] Perhaps the most exciting event in the town's history was the attack on the Buena Vista Tavern. A group of local women took exception to the amount of money their menfolk were spending on whiskey. The assmebled at the hardware store where they were issued hatchets. They then marched into the Buena Vista smashing bottles, threatening the barman, and hurling whatever they could find through the tavern windows. Each of the women was fined one dollar.[14]<\/p><\/div>\n