ST PAUL, Minn. — "This just looks like what I'm gonna do," says Brandon Redmon.

Redmon is one of a handful of SPPS students working on learning about heavy machinery, including how to operate it. In his class on Wednesday, he and other students spent time working with smaller versions of the real-life heavy equipment.

"Build a pathway going up, so we're trying to grade it," Redmon said, driving a remoted controlled excavator.

Inside his classroom is a sandbox, meant for students to use as they learn how to work and communicate like professionals do.

"Access to this type of work and this line of work is great," Redmon said.

The district is working on making the sandbox inside the classroom much larger, including training students in the class on how to operate the real-world counterpar

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