TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.

Welcome

II.

Shop Dress Code ...

III.

Classroom/Shop Rules

IV.

Penalties and Punishments

V.

Grading ..

VI.

Course Curriculum

11

VII.

Program Goals ...

13

VIII.

N.O.C.T.I. and Co-op employment

14

Parent Signature Page ..

15

IX.

I.-Welcome
Welcome to the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Shop (HVAC). The purpose of this
packet is to welcome and introduce you to the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Program at
the Dauphin County Technical School.
Technical education may be a new term to you, and what you may see and hear about this
educational process may seem entirely different from what you have experienced in your education up
to now; or were exposed to when you were a student.
In a Vocational or Technical setting you will find that learning takes place in many different ways
and at different speeds this is known as Competency-Based Education*.
Students are not always working on the same division or job at the same time and much more
emphasis is placed upon the student for assuming responsibility for his or her own education. The
harder they work the farther they will get in the program.
The student will also be required to use information from academic classes as well as their shop
and vice-versa. By integrating academics and the vocational/technical programs the student should
be able to see some relevance and importance of the academic subjects.
It is also important for the student to understand the importance of academic classes and that they
are a vital part of all trades and future employment. I work closely with academic teachers and staff. I
monitor academic grades, attendance and discipline issues.
This is an outstanding career field to be involved with as there is now an increasing demand for a
multitude of positions within the career field as the Baby Boomers are starting to leave the work
force and are opening up thousands of positions that will need to be filled.
There is also a shortage in the United States for skilled workers that can enter into the workforce
immediately or very soon after high school. The Skilled Trades as they are often referred to, are the
back bone of what makes this or any country work smoothly.
The HVAC industry provides individuals with good pay, year around work, job security, overtime
pay and great chances for advancement. Service technicians and installation professionals are
considered an extremely valued commodity in this trade.
Finally, the skilled trades produce more individual entrepreneurs than most any other profession.
This leaves the door wide open for the skilled worker and lends itself to the most promising future for
the student that pursues a career as a skilled tradesperson.

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II.- Shop Dress Code:

The Shop dress code is very important for the student to adhere to as it is not only required by
D.C.T.S., but also by the individual shops, and plays a huge part in their own personal safety.
If a student is improperly dressed and creates a dangerous work atmosphere because of his or her
own violation of the dress code, they run the risk of endangering themselves as well as other
classmates around them.

REQUIRED AND ACCEPTABLE DRESS:

1. Blue jeans or trade work pants such as the popular brand Dickies. This means no shorts!
They must not be torn or loose fitting and must be secured above the hips either by a tight
fit or a belt with a non-obtrusive belt buckle.
Loose fitting work pants that cannot be secured above the hips that display a persons
undergarments will not be accepted and will prohibit the individual from entering the
shop/work area.
2. Shop Shirts must either have the D.C.T.S logo or Shop logo that they are participating in.
Shirts that do not comply with that are not accepted and student will be issued a warning to
correct his or her dress and will be confined to the classroom.
Approved shop shirts are as followed: they can be a t-shirt, hooded sweat shirt, long sleeve
t-shirt or polo shirt with the approved logo mentioned in item 2.
3. Work boots with the keyword being boots. Can be brown, tan, or black and optional to be steel
toed or not.
Failure to wear the proper work boots will result in the student not being allowed in shop
area and confined to the classroom with a warning to correct the situation.
Boots must fit properly and be tied at all times.
THIS MEANS NO SNEAKERS!
4. Jewelry, watches and rings:
Student should refrain from wearing jewelry in shop areas at all times for safety reasons.
Jewelry is not necessary to be worn at all in a vocational technical school as it prohibits
them from entering most areas of the school.

II.- Shop Dress Code

cont.

5. Safety Glasses:
Safety glasses will be issued by the school for every student or the student can opt to
purchase their own private pair.

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 If a student chooses to supply their own they should place them in their shop locker and
leave them there for everyday use.
The HVAC shop as well as many other shops is a designated eye protection required area
with multiple signs posted indicating that they must be worn at all time in the shop.
6. Hearing protection:
Hearing protection in the form of soft eardrum plugs will be provided to each student.
A student can choose to provide his or her own and can be in the form of soft plugs or
headsets.
It is the students responsibility to care for and store them in their secured and provided
shop locker and they should be kept there for daily use.
Hearing protection will be a choice of the student as when to wear them and safety training
will be provided to make them aware of occasions when they must be worn.

III.- Classroom/Shop Rules

Classroom rules are an important part of acceptable student behavior and will provide them with the
structure for optimal learning.
These rules are set in place and are uncompromising. They are also set in place to insure that not only the
students are complying, but also that no one individual disrupts the learning process of fellow classmates.

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There is a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY associated with the following rules and will be strictly
enforced by the teachers and staff of D.C.T.S. Warnings will be very limited.

Classroom Rules and Etiquette are as Follows:

1.
2.
3.

4.

5.
6.
7.

8.
9.

Students will arrive to class on time or have an excuse for being late issued from the office. Verbal
excuses are unacceptable.
Students will be permitted to go to their shop lockers quickly and quietly put on their boots, grab
safety glasses and grab workbooks and pencils before the morning announcements.
Students will immediately report to the classroom, sit in their assigned seat, be quiet, and answer
their bell ringer questions and read the Essential question for their ticket out the door at the end of
shop.
There will be no congregating in the shop area before class and they will be quiet and respectful of
others while doing their bell ringers and listening to the morning announcements.
There will be ZERO TOLERANCE for noise and disruption and offenders of the rules
will face disciplinary action.
Students will not carry conversations amongst themselves while the instructor is talking.
Students will come prepared with writing materials, pencils are preferred.
There will be no food or drinks permitted in classroom or shop.
Students have time to eat breakfast in the cafeteria before class and for those that do not
have time because of bus arrival schedules should plan to eat breakfast at home.
It is not the responsibility of the shop teacher to feed students or provide them with
breakfast or lunch during shop sessions.
Head phones or IPods for listening to music are forbidden during shop sessions and should be kept
at home or put in the students locker.
Cell phones are permitted to be brought to school with the student, but are limited to emergency
use and will not be visible at any time during the school day.
Violators of rule 8 or 9 will have their electronic instruments removed and turned into the office,
and the students parents will have to come to the school to get them back.
Every classroom and other rooms in the school have public phones if a student needs to call for a
ride home or to contact an employer.

III. Classroom/shop rules cont.

cont.

If parents need to reach their child, they should call the office at 717-652-3170 and they will
transfer the call or the message to the student in whatever class he or she is in at the present time.
Students are not permitted to have their phones out in school and are not to be texting, using social
media, taking pictures, recording conversations or listening to music.
Taking pictures or recording conversations on an individuals phone, while attending D.C.T.S., is a
privacy violation that is punishable under law and should be avoided at all times.

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*Failure to comply with school phone policy can and will result in the phone being taken, turned
into the office and having the parent come to the school to retrieve it.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

22.
23.

Students will not talk out loud or out of turn in the classroom without raising their hand and being
called on.
Students will not bully or pick on other students. ZERO TOLERANCE.
Students will not use vulgar language while attending D.C.T.S. this includes curse words or
sexually explicit language.
Students will not fight or extend physical harm to any other student or staff member.
Horseplay anywhere at D.C.T.S. is not tolerated and is a safety violation that will be punished
immediately without prior warnings.
Students will complete assigned theory room work each day and fill out a daily log as part of their
required Collins writing.
Use or possession of Tobacco products are strictly forbidden and are subject to civilian laws and
punishment as well as school policy punishments. If tobacco use or possession is suspected, the
office will be notified and a search of the students car, locker and any other possessions will be
conducted. If found, the student is subject to fines and suspension.
Possession of Drugs and Alcohol are subject to the same as rule 16.
Insubordination to any member of the faculty staff will not be tolerated.
Defacing or destruction of any D.C.T.S. property to include books, furniture, building structure,
tools or equipment will not be tolerated.
No student shall possess any weapons, knives, guns etc. and shall not use shop tools or equipment
as weapons.
Students shall not touch any other students personal, or school issued possessions nor attempt to
break in to another students locker.
Offending student and their parents will assume all monetary liability of such
actions.
Theft of any kind is unacceptable and punishable by civilian law and school policy.
Students are responsible for their own actions and this is a process of maturing and growing into a
responsible adult, I would encourage every student to Think before you act. If you think it is
wrong then it probably is.

III. Classroom/shop rules cont.

cont.
24.

25.
26.

All personal belongings MUST be put in your locker and locked at all times!
No personal belongings or tools to be left in theory room, shop or in locker
area.
Students must always have his or her work boots and safety glasses on and hearing protection as
necessary or they will not be permitted in the shop area.
Students will follow specific instructions on his or her shop competency.

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27.

All work completed must be inspected and signed off as completed satisfactory by the instructor
before moving on to the next competency.
Students will stay with his or her assigned partner or group, but present accomplished work
individually to instructor.
Students will stay in an assigned area where their work is or potentially lose points toward daily
grade for being in an unassigned area.
Absolutely NO leaving the shop or classroom without permission. Violating this rule will result in
a minimum of a written unassigned area warning and docking of the students grade for the day for
failure to follow instructions.
Never use a tool or piece of equipment that you were not trained on and signed off on by the
instructor.
Every student will be assigned a shop clean up duty and must perform it daily or his or her grade
for the day will be docked in that category.
Theft of any tools or equipment will not be tolerated and punished under law.
Report any breakage of tools or equipment to the instructor and report anyone violating any shop,
classroom and safety rules.
Always be aware of the location of fire extinguishers and the emergency electricity shut down
buttons (2).

28.
29.
30.

31.
32.
33.
34.
35.

IV.- Penalties and Punishments:

Punishment of any of the previous infractions will be dealt with according to the severity of the
violation and are as follows but not limited to

Negative effects of overall grade.

Confinement to the classroom.
Removal from classroom and or shop.
In-School Suspension.
After-School Detention.
Out of School Suspension.
Removal from shop and placement in Alternative-education class.

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Possible dismissal from program and or school.

Academic Note:
Any student that is failing or on the verge of failing any of their academic classes will be pulled into the
classroom and given time to bring up the grade for the class they are struggling in.
This will be orchestrated and accomplished with both myself as the HVAC instructor and with the
Academic teacher of that students class that he or she is struggling in. This is an attempt to help the
student bring his or her grade up to a satisfactory level as to avoid failing a subject for the entire year.
I, as the HVAC instructor, will not teach the failing subject but will allow extra study time for the student
that is struggling. This may include making up work or doing extra credit work to bring his or her grade
up to a passing level.

V.
Grading
This segment is about how each student in the HVAC program is graded and is broken down to the
specific categories and points assigned to each. The categories will be graded from 1 to 10 points each
with 10 being the best attainable score. Students that dont comply with dress code, incomplete work,
have been cited for breaking rules etc. can be docked points for any given category.
The Following categories are what makes up the students daily grade (50 points):
Shop dress Start with 10 and will be docked points per each infraction.
Example: if a student doesnt wear his or her work boots or a non-approved shirt, they can
be docked two points and be confined to the theory room.
Attitude Start with 10 points and will be docked points per each infraction.
Example: late for class, disobeying class rules, failure to participate, etc.
Competencies Start with 10 points and will be docked points for each infraction.
Example: Did not complete competency in allotted time.

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Collins Writing This category includes a daily Bell Ringer Question and an Essential Question. The
answers are required to be written in the students Collins log every day. These responses must be in
complete sentences to receive the full 10 points.
Clean -Up Students are expected to participate fully in cleaning up not only the tools that they may
have been using, but also help other students who may need assistance in putting away things. They also
are expected to sweep any debris left on the work benches and the shop floor.
Other grades that occur either daily or as needed include:
Worksheets: The students will regularly receive a worksheet with reading material and attached
questions. These questions are due by the end of class. The worksheets are valued at 25 points.
Worksheets not turned in will become a zero if not turned the following school day.
Tests and Quizzes There will be quizzes given to students to assess learning periodically. I prefer to
wrap up every new topic with a small quiz. Although the quizzes are usually only 10 questions in length,
they will be valued at 100 points.

V. Grading continued.
All grades and comments can be viewed by the parent or guardian of the student by visiting the Power
School website. Each student is given a user name and password to access this. I recommend viewing
your students grades often. They will be updated on a weekly basis.
If your student does not tell you this information, you can always contact the school for access to this
information and the user name and password will be given to you for access. We highly encourage that
you stay on top of this with your child so that there are no unexpected grades.
ISS, OSS, and Alternative Education Policy
ISS, OSS and Alternative Education assignment is a result of your actions or lack of actions. When you
are assigned any of these, it is your responsibility to get all required work for whatever time you are
missing in shop. You must get the assignments from me as well as secure the Collins Writing question
from the board. Since you will not be able to participate in shop, you will be required to complete

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assignments to take the place of your Daily Grade. For every day a student is assigned to ISS, OSS or
Alternative Education, you will need to turn in three chapters of review questions per day (with questions
and answers written out), one two page double spaced hand written essay, both daily Collins writing
questions (Bell Ringer and Essential Question), and any and all worksheets completed by the class for that
day are all due and must be handed in by the next school day. NO late work will be accepted! (Example:
2 days in ISS would require 6 chapters of review questions, 2 two page essays, 2 Bell ringers and 2
Essential Questions, and 2 days of class work/worksheets). By completing all of these items, you can
receive all 50 points for daily grade providing the work is handed in on time. If components are missing,
your grade will be negatively impacted.

VI. Course Curriculum

Major Division I
Basic Refrigeration Fundamentals
Safety & Theory
Orientation Shop layout Safety Rules
Basic Fundamentals of Matter, energy and heat basics,
The Refrigeration process and Refrigerant management.

Major Division II
Detailed Tools Overview
Hand and Specialized Tools
Identifying the proper tools and application to perform
All necessary HVAC Tasks.

Major Division III

Equipment Installation
For Residential and light Commercial Equipment
Covering system location, System connections, Air distribution

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Leak testing, System Evacuation and System startup

Major Division IV
Electrical Wiring
Residential and Light Commercial
High and Low Voltage Wiring
Electricity fundamentals, Ohms law, Electric motors
Electric controls, Wiring Diagrams and
Electrical Codes compliance

Major Division V
Total System Commissioning
Fine Tuning For Maximum Efficiency
Comfort and End User Satisfaction
Testing, adjusting and balancing, indoor air quality,
Mechanical trouble shooting and
Electrical Trouble shooting

VII. Course Curriculum

Cont.

Major Division VI
Residential and Commercial Systems
Installation and Trouble shooting of 5 system types
Gas heat, Electric heat, Oil heat, Heat pumps and
Hydronic or water heat

Major Division VII

Fiberboard Ductwork
Understanding How to Make and Install
Basic residential and commercial duct layout, how to properly size ductwork,
How to hand fabricate fiberboard ductwork, safety and precautions,
Proper tool identification and usage, Proper dress
And protective gear used in the industry.

Major Division VIII

Sheet Metal Ductwork
Understanding how to make and install

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Basic sheet metal layout and fabrication for residential and commercial application
Proper use of fabrication machinery, related safety and proper dress and protective gear.

Major Division IX
Work Environment
Preparing students to work with other in the work place and how to deal with customers.
Proper work etiquette and ethics, dealing with co-worker disputes,
How to deal with the public and customers,
Role playing in both situations

Major Division X
Certification, NOCTI Testing
And Senior Projects
Preparing Students to enter the work force
Refrigeration study guides for acquiring 608 refrigerant certification, Job interview preparation
NOCTI (Required for graduation) test preparation, Senior project (required for graduation)

VII. Program Goals

The Goals set forth in the HVAC Program are as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

To teach the students from 9th grade to their senior year the theory behind Heating, Ventilating,
Air Conditioning and Refrigeration.
To give the student the knowledge and proper usage of tools and equipment of the HVAC industry.
To teach the students the basic knowledge and hands on experience of installing and
troubleshooting both residential and commercial HVAC equipment.
To teach each individual the meaning of team work and the professional treatment of other
individuals.
To teach individuals how to deal with and handle the public on both the service side and
installation side of the HVAC industry.
To give each individual student the foundation for a proper work ethic that will drive them to
succeed, get them promoted and even have the potential start a business for themselves.
To prepare them for post graduate schooling in the field of HVAC.
Finally, to prepare them to join the work force immediately following High School or Post
graduate school and to become productive.

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VIII. N.O.C.T.I. (National Occupational Competency Testing Institute)

and Co-op employment
This is a nationwide testing institution that gauges what the student has learned with practical theory and
what they can do with hands on mechanics and each test is based on the specific trade.
This is a required test for all students of all vocational technical schools in the entire country and the
numbers are compiled on a nationwide basis for averages.
The preliminary testing starts in their junior (11th grade) year and is a gauge only to see how they will
fare with the real test in their senior year.
It helps clear up weak areas and allows students to prepare for the real testing in their senior year.
N.O.C.T.I. is very important and should be taken very seriously because although it is not graded against a
students graduation, it is part of the curriculum being taught that does count towards a portion of a
students grade in the classroom.
Co-op or Cooperative Employment DCTS participates in a Co-Op program where Seniors who meet the
requirements may be eligible to go to work for a local contractor to gain valuable on the job experience.
*If they fail to meet any of the requirements after acceptance, they can be removed from co-op and
or lose their employment opportunity.

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X. Parent Signature Page

Parent/Guardian and Student Signature Page

I (we) have read the attached Course Syllabus Page 1 thru signature page and understand and accept the
purpose and goals for the program. I (we) also understand the Policies and procedures that the student
must adhere to and topics that will be made available to the student and the evaluation and grading
procedures that will be used to keep track of the students progress. Textbooks and reference materials
will be made available to the student as they need or desire them and numerous reference books are
available for independent use. It is a good idea but not mandatory that as the student advances through the
program he/she will begin to purchase hand tools to be used if he or she decides to enter the Cooperative
Education experience coming into their senior year. Co-op employment is only offered to students who
maintain excellence in shop and their academics and can be revoked if grades decline severely. Students
that are on Co-op employment will be assessed both by the school and their employer.
I have read and understand the attached course syllabus, student expectations, and consequences for
misbehavior.
Student Printed Name:_______________________________
Student Signature:___________________________________

Parent(s) Guardian(s):________________________________

Date:_____________________

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Parents/Guardians are encouraged to visit the shop anytime. Please make prior arrangements through the Career Counseling
Office, Principles and Instructor. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me or the School.

Ty Christman Instructor
School Email: tchristman@dcts.org
Phone: 717-652-3170 Ext: 1403

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