Students ‘build’ toward their futures

According to the Irish poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats, “Education is not filling a pail, but lighting a fire.”

Don Schinke and Dave Vande Voort, retired technical-education instructors from Sheboygan North and Sheboygan South High Schools, believed in Yeats’ philosophy. In 1998, along with members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Sheboygan, they put Yeats’ theory into action, by initiating the Sheboygan Area School District (SASD) House Construction Project.

These individuals were convinced that high-school juniors and seniors, who would learn a trade handson, build a house themselves, and then experience the sale of that house would have a sense of pride instilled by observing a project from start to finish. They would also have a jumpstart for entering an apprenticeship program in the construction trades or enrolling into a building-trades program in technical school or college.

Thus, each year since then, the SASD purchases a lot, and juniors and seniors enrolled in the construction trades program build a home during the school year. The home is then listed for sale with a local Realtor and sold to a qualified buyer.

Mark Holzman, coordinator of secondary education for the SASD, is the overseer for the project.

“This home the students build is something that lasts for a lifetime,” he said. “In the future, these kids will come back with their families and say, ‘I built that house.’

“This project is a great opportunity for our kids to provide them with hands-on, life-long skills,” Holzman added. “With the prerequisite courses completed for working on the house, students come with the basic skills and apply them in a real-life setting.

“They also learn about teamwork,” he emphasized. Seniors who are working on their second house are the crew leaders and learn about management skills. They learn to put their tools away in an organized fashion, so the tools are ready to go for the next crew coming in.

“The groundbreaking ceremony for the home each year is a source of pride for the students, with the mayor and school board members in attendance,” Holzman affirmed.

The current technical-education teachers – Jeff Grunewald, Sheboygan North, and Bob Below, Sheboygan South, who supervise the students’ work on the home each day, feel likewise.

“The hands-on instruction these students receive will carry with them throughout their lives,” Grunewald said. “Students are leaning how to build a house, while discovering problem-solving skills and employability skills.”

Below echoed Grunewald’s opinion of the project. “This is a fantastic program that couldn’t happen without the support of the Sheboygan community,” Below said.

Construction concepts is the pre-requisite course students must have completed in order to participate in the house-construction project. They are also encouraged to take introduction to woodworking, introduction to metalworking, architectural design and woods production, prior to working on the house.

This year, a total of 26 students are involved in the project. Each year, 20 to 30 students from North and South High, or more than 300 students since the project began, have participated in the hands-on construction. Two groups of students – one from North and the other from South – meet daily (weather permitting) to work on the house, under the supervision of their construction trades instructors.

“Students are broken down into crews of three to four students and work together each day and solve problems together,” Grunewald said.

“Each crew is responsible for completing its daily tasks with limited help from the instructor. Students learn quickly how to work as a group and how to problem-solve.

“To stress the importance of energy conservation, we build Energy Star homes that meet strict guidelines,” Grunewald explained. “Green building is growing in popularity, and we have been doing it for many years now.

“Students leave the program with an understanding of why energy conservation is critical right now and why so many contractors are building energy-efficient homes.”

To date, 10 of the 11 ranch-style homes the students built have been sold to qualified buyers through the program. Last year’s house at 2511 N. 26th St., Sheboygan, remains on the market. This year’s home project now in progress is located at 4427 Tara Lane, Sheboygan.

More than 50 Sheboygan County businesses, known as construction partners, are involved in the houseconstruction project too.

“They donate to us, work with our students, or we purchase materials through their businesses,” Grunewald noted.

Holzman added, “Due to state codes, students are not allowed to do the electrical and plumbing work. But they can observe that work in progress, and our house- construction partners do a good job of teaching our kids these skills. So, we are building community partnerships through this process.”

This year’s home, slated for completion sometime in May, is progressing well. The roof is on, and students are completing the installation of the vinyl siding and painting the house. They will then begin the interior trim work.

Steve Opgenorth, a Realtor with Sheboygan’s Century 21 Rautman/Schils Real Estate agency, will handle the listing for the sale of the home. “We have an advisory committee that meets monthly, and we decide the asking price, along with the help of the Realtor,” Grunewald said.

Below added, “We use a Realtor sometimes, but most houses have been sold without.”

He noted too, “Lots are purchased with proceeds from previous house sales.”

The construction-trades students are not the only ones to have a hand in the project. More than 1,300 North and South High students have been involved throughout the past 11 years.

Each project starts in the drafting rooms of North and South High Schools, where students compete to have their drawings selected as the winner.

“The winner has the privilege of seeing their house being built the following year,” Grunewald said, adding that Derek Kieckhafer, a 2009 South High School graduate, designed this year’s house.

“Each year, a committee sits down to review the drawings from the two schools and to pick the top three drawings,” Grunewald noted. “The committee is made up of contractors, architects community and business members related to the construction trades.”

The top three winners of the designing competition receive a cash award and luncheon recognition, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Sheboygan.

“Each year the competition grows tougher and tougher, and the students design some pretty amazing houses,” Grunewald said.

In addition to students who design and draft the houses, others are involved in the interior design. The interior design classes help with floor covering and color schemes.

The foundation for the house is pored in August, and then students begin building when school starts in the fall.

“After the home is built, botany classes come out to determine what types of plants will grow on the landscape,” Holzman added. “This is a total school project.”

Some students working on the house provided their input. Ian Olson, a North High School junior, plans to study construction management in college or earn an associate degree in construction at a technical school.

“Or I might enter an apprenticeship program right after high school,” Olson said.

He noted that the most enjoyable aspect of the house-construction project is observing the progress being made along the way.

“Our instructors devote a great amount of time, so we can have such a great program,” Olson said. “Thanks to them, this course has been the greatest learning experience of my high school career. Mr. Schinke was a great inspiration too, as my woods class teacher in middle school.”

North High School senior Adam Blindauer said, “The most rewarding aspect for me is having a tremendous instructor Mr. Grunewald, who knows just about everything when it comes to building a house.

“He is more than willing to share his knowledge,” Blindauer added. “Being able to learn from him is the best part of the class.”

Blindauer hopes to be a carpenter after he graduates, “whether it will be through an apprenticeship program or getting further educated, then looking for the right opportunity,” he added.

“It is an extremely great benefit to have learned a lot of things involved with building a house and being able to see the end product of the hard word involved,” Blindauer said.

North High junior Shane Piel said, “The most rewarding aspect for the house project is knowing how a house is built and possibly make it a career choice for me. I plan on using these skills to know how to fix things that go wrong in my house in the future, and so I don’t have to pay someone to do simple jobs for me. ” North High senior Chris Russo said, “The life lessons I have learned can be used in any situation, such as my future job, as well as raising my family. Through this class, I have learned how to build every aspect of a house.

“This knowledge will help me in the future with fixing any problems in my own home.”

South High School senior James Kaczmarowski is foreman of the South crew. “As foreman, I have to set an example for the juniors, so when they come back next year, they know what they are doing,” he said.

“You develop the skills needed to do the job, and even if you don’t go into this particular profession, you have some experience that will help you on your own home some day.”

South High junior Trevor Diaz added, “The most rewarding aspect of this project is the feeling of accomplishment every time a section of the house becomes complete.

“There is a lot of hard work and precision put into this project,” Diaz noted. “So you have to be dedicated and responsible on the job site.

“I plan on using the skills I’ve learned from this experience in my future by having the know-how to do jobs on buildings and homes. It’s something I can take with me the rest of my life.”

Below noted that an open house for the public is held when the house is completed. “That is a very exciting day,” he said. “It is a good feeling to see the students bring in family and friends and listen to them, as they talk about ‘their’ house.

“Seeing students gain knowledge and confidence as they progress through the construction is very rewarding,” Below affirmed. “I enjoy hearing students talk about the experience they received and how they plan on using the skills they have acquired.

“Another reward is knowing we have taught our students that pride and craftsmanship are important,” Below said. “When people see the work that is done, there is a sense of amazement that students could do such high quality work.”

Grunewald concurred. “I absolutely love this project and enjoy watching students progress through the year with the construction of a house,” he said.

“The students produce a great house and take a lot of pride in their work. I enjoy listening to them talk about the progress of the house and asking each other questions. The students also do a wonderful job of teaching and learning from each other.”