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On a recent Tuesday afternoon, it was time for the students in Matthew Bracey’s classroom to get to work. But instead of pulling out pencils and notebooks, the teens put on neon yellow safety vests, hard hats, and work boots and began laying down rows of bricks with mortar mix and trowels.
For more than 20 years, Bracey has been teaching masonry at the Randolph Career and Technical Center in Detroit Public Schools Community District. The masonry program manager teaches his 30 students the basics of the trade and everything related to it, such as how to become a bricklayer and how to use a scissor lift as well as plumbing, carpentry, and electrical skills.
“We pretty much teach it all here that revolves around masonry – repair, restoration, making old buildings look new. We teach it all in this class,” Bracey said.
Bracey and his program are being recognized on a national level. Last month, Carhartt presented the teacher with its inaugural Steel Apple award, which honors educators shaping the next generation of skilled trade workers. The awards are an extension of the Dearborn-based workwear brand’s “For the Love of Labor” program, an initiative that supports nonprofit organizations as they educate, train, and place workers into skilled trades careers.
Bracey was one of five educators nationwide to receive the award and the only teacher from Michigan. Recipients were given $10,000 to invest in their classrooms, and students received new gear from Carhartt, including backpacks and work gloves.
Bracey’s award comes as schools across the state are beginning to put more focus on Career and Technical Education, or CTE. In her budget proposal for next year, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer suggested a 4% funding bump for K-12 schools, community colleges, and universities, including $145 million for new or expanded CTE programs and $19 million to expand registered apprenticeships, helping an estimated 1,710 apprentices and 130 employers.
According to the Michigan Department of Education, 112,156 students statewide were enrolled in CTE programs for the 2023-24 school year, with 12,585 CTE students earning approved postsecondary credentials.
CTE is also a priority for DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. During his State of the Schools address in January, he announced the district’s high school redesign plan and efforts to be more intentional about helping students stay on the path to graduation beginning in the ninth grade. That includes offering more diploma options in addition to the traditional high school diploma. Planned for the 2026-27 school year, the options would include honors, dual degree, career-ready, and arts diplomas.
Bracey said when he got the news about the Carhartt award, he initially thought it was a joke and wanted to know who set him up. Randolph Principal Jared Davis told BridgeDetroit that an employee from the Michigan chapter of Skills USA nominated Bracey. The student organization serves thousands of high school and college students who are preparing for skilled trade careers.
Bracey said he plans to use the $10,000 to fix a broken forklift and upgrade the classroom Xbox, which students play with when they’re done with their work.
While he’s grateful for the honor, Bracey is more interested in exposing the craft of masonry to his students and preparing them for successful futures in the trades or elsewhere.
“I do this every day out of my heart,” he said. “I don’t do it for no accolades or no trophies or things like that because I went here and sat in these same seats the kids sit in. I know the program works because it worked for me. We work hard and we play hard every day.”
How this Detroit teacher found his calling
Bracey was a 1988 graduate of Randolph. He originally started out taking computer classes, but said he couldn’t get the hang of it. Administrators then told Bracey to walk around the building to figure out what he was interested in.
“I came into this (the masonry) classroom and I said, ‘Oh, that’s kind of like building Legos,’” he said. “So, I went home and asked my father, ‘What is masonry?’ He said bricklaying. I said, ‘Oh, I could do that,’ and I probably became the best in the class. And that’s how I started. I guess it was my calling.”
On Bracey’s graduation day, Novi-based masonry business Monte Costella and Company hired him and he worked there for four years. Some of the buildings Bracey helped construct include the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center downtown and the Palace of Auburn Hills.
After his work with Monte Costella, Bracey began working for Detroit Public Schools as a building maintenance technician, making repairs across the district.
One of the reasons he transitioned into teaching is because he comes from a family of educators. His mother was a long-time teacher in Detroit and his brother, George Bracey, is a math teacher at Cody High School. But Bracey said he was “tricked” into becoming a teacher.
“My ex-teacher was about to retire, and he begged me to come here and teach,” he said. “The first time I turned it down because I was 20. So, I came back at 33 and that’s when I took the job.”
Bracey said masonry is one of the most popular programs at Randolph and not just with the male students. He has four former female students who are in the industry now, Bracey said.
“When they get in this classroom, there’s not a girl bricklayer, there’s not a boy bricklayer, it’s just bricklayers,” he said. “The girls do everything the boys do, and most of the time, better.”
Working in the classroom with Bracey is Gary Horne, a masonry worker and guest instructor for the union Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 2. The two have known each other since they were 16 years old when both were taking a masonry class at Randolph. Horne has been a guest teacher at the school since 2019.
“The trade has been good to me,” he said. “Being able to build something with my hands and drive around and see buildings and projects that I worked on … I take a lot of pride in that. I just want to share that passion with young people.”
For students who are interested in taking their skills further after graduation, Horne and Bracey help prepare them for a masonry apprenticeship. Horne has had some students go through Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers’ 12-week program and then immediately go on to job sites.
Bracey helps students apply for colleges, too. Last year, one of his students received two $25,000 scholarships to Eastern Michigan University to study engineering, including the Detroit Promise scholarship. And in 2021, a student became the first person in his family to graduate from high school. He got a full-ride scholarship to Eastern and is graduating this year and starting a job at Ford Motor Co., Bracey said.
“He came here in ninth grade and stayed here all four years,” Bracey said. “He’s like my son. Sometimes you get those stories that are extraordinary.”
Bracey is giving back to the next generation
Benjamin Chavez is one of the students taking Bracey’s program. The senior transferred to Randolph this school year from Western International High School after hearing about a carpentry class one of his friends was taking.
Chavez, 17, has been interested in masonry since watching his father take on landscaping jobs when he was a kid.
“I saw how he worked with pools, gardens, any type of residential work,” he said. “I loved the finished work and how it all came together. It’s just like one huge piece of art.”
After high school, Chavez plans to attend the Universal Technical Institute in Canton to study masonry and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, or HVAC. He also hopes to get an apprenticeship.
“I’m hoping it all goes smoothly,” he said. “I’ll probably start my career in masonry or HVAC.”
Ra’Naeja Lewis, 16, is also enjoying her time in the masonry program. The 11th grader said she likes the way Bracey makes her feel welcome in his class.
“He makes it fun to learn. He’s not one of those teachers that are mean and strict,” Lewis said. “He’s a very good teacher.”
Lewis is still deciding if she wants to pursue a career in masonry or learn another trade like carpentry or painting.
“Eventually, I’ll pick which one I like more,” she said.
Davis, the principal, said teachers like Bracey make his job easy.
“When you have teachers like Mr. Bracey who are dedicated, who are passionate … it makes my job a lot easier,” he said. “There’s a high demand in the workforce for skilled tradesmen, so to be able to fuel that demand is something that I take a lot of pride in. And also preparing our young people for, not just jobs, but career opportunities where they can be gainfully employed and ultimately, productive members of society.”
Bracey also enjoys watching his students succeed, saying it’s one of the most rewarding aspects of being a teacher. And he said it’s important that students learn a new skill.
“Even if you become a doctor or lawyer, you want to know if somebody comes to your house to work and if they’re cheating you or not,” Bracey said. “We teach them everything – how much you should charge for this (a service), how much somebody will charge you for this. It’s just good, hands-on things to know, no matter what industry you go into.”
Micah Walker is a reporter for BridgeDetroit. You can reach her at mwalker@bridgedetroit.com.
