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GREENSBORO — Michael Cook likes his masonry class at Grimsley High because, as he puts it, he doesn’t have to do any work.

He says that as he stands next to an elaborate brick wall about 4 feet tall. He spent several days building it.

Nathaniel Degraffinreaidt, Michael’s teacher, says you’ll hear that from many kids enrolled in career and technical education classes. They don’t equate the hard work they do in class as school work because they like it.

“They are doing work, they just don’t realize they’re mastering a craft,” he said.

Robert White, the school system’s director of Career and Technical Education, hears people complain occasionally that trade classes are gone from schools.

“I always tell them we still have that,” White said. “We have more courses than we ever have,” White said.

There are 97 career and technical courses offered in Guilford County Schools. They represent several industries, including information technology, construction and medical careers.

Enrollment in the classes is up this year; the program boasts more than 36,000 middle and high school students. That number includes students who might be enrolled in more than one such class.

The increase in enrollment breaks a two-year decline, a trend White attributes to the economy.

“People are beginning to see the need,” White said. “These courses lead to employment.”

It can lead to college as well.

A scholarship to GTCC is available for any career tech student completing the career tech course of study, which includes four career tech courses and other academic requirements.

Many of the students enrolled in the classes never pictured themselves there. Degraffinreaidt estimates 40 percent of the students he gets each year were assigned to the class by guidance counselors and the front office.

He doesn’t mind though. He says once kids get in the room and start working with the bricks and mortar, many fall in love with it.

“It’s not like being in an English class and just sitting there for a whole period. They can move around and use their hands,” he said.

The programs aren’t cheap. The bulk of the program’s $22 million budget comes from the state and covers teacher salaries. White said federal funding covers about 5 percent of the budget, and local funding makes up about 1 percent.

The classes are meant to teach skills students can take into a workplace.

As that workplace evolves, so must the school system’s career tech program. White is researching the possibility of offering a course dealing with logistics. Logistics is the business of distributing products, an industry that experts believe will continue to grow in Guilford County.

For students like Michael Cook and Antonio Murrell, the classes are more than just grades and a skill; it’s become part of them.

“It gives you a chance to be creative. It isn’t like a regular class,” Murrell said. “It’s like an art class.”

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com.