Real-world experience right at home

Posted: Jan. 25, 2012

Oconomowoc Area School District - Construction and trades personnel built more than just another house recently when they completed work on a new home in Ixonia. They also provided real-life experiences for high school students interested in a career in the building trades.

Oconomowoc High School partnered this year for the first time with Tim O'Brien Homes to build a three-bedroom, two-bath 1,678-square-foot ranch-style house in conjunction with the school's Building Trades III course.

It is the fifth home students have completed in course history.

"What Tim O'Brien Homes gave us is unbelievable. They had us actively engaged in every single trade and stage of the home-building process," said OHS Building Trades teacher Steve Olson.

"The educational outcomes I wanted to see - they just nailed it. All the licensed trades came out with us and they were all eager to work with the kids. It wasn't just all about time and money. If a kid had a question or a problem, they stopped and explained it."

"The students got to work side by side with the professionals in each trade, these guys shared knowledge with the kids that could never have been obtained in a traditional classroom setting," the teacher added. Olson said that level of commitment was present in every person involved in the project.

"They were all hands-on the whole way. Everyone was about the kids and giving them a great experience in a business setting," he explained.

"The impact this experience had on kids was life-changing," Olson said.

Teaching life skills

"All of our trades classes teach the why behind what they're learning. I think that's critical," Olson said.

"The one thing that is becoming clear in education is that our student population is increasingly interested in hands-on projects. Being able to apply what they learn is something they hunger for. Connective learning opportunities are in higher demand. Today's students aren't satisfied sitting and reading any more. They want to be doing," he said.

Olson gave kudos to the district for being proactive in providing experiences like this to students.

"Our district should be commended for realizing this and offering these opportunities to our community," he said.

The students agreed.

"The guys that came in and taught us stuff to do were always going out of their way to teach us new things and how to do it right so that in the future we would know. Time is money to those guys, but they were so much more involved in trying to teach us," explained student Matt Tokarski.

His classmate agreed, adding that the class also emphasized another set of skills required for success in the work world.

"It taught us a lot of life skills, such as, working hard, getting things done on time, working together and showing up on time. I've grown through this project. It has motivated me to work hard, work as a team, get things done and also what I want to do with my future," said Brody Chellew.

Future plans

"It was a wonderful experience and exceeded my expectations. It couldn't have gone any better," said Tim O'Brien.

"My biggest concern going in, number one, was safety, and number two, how would this impact our process and how would the trades interact? But Steve (Olsen) did a wonderful job and has a fantastic safety program and the kids really respected it. I was very impressed by how well prepared he was and the students were for this project," the builder said.

"My biggest excitement was when the kids told us at the end that they got a tremendous amount out of it. Everyone went above and beyond, remembering it was an educational opportunity for the students and spent the time with them. The kids had a phenomenal experience, and to me, that was the goal," said O'Brien.

The builder said the home sold for a price in the low $200,000 range; the builder plans to continue working with the high school again next year on another house build.

Course requirements

Entrance into the course is not guaranteed, Olson said.

"This class is most certainly growing in popularity," he said.

"We run three to four sections of Building Trades I, which enroll 70-90 kids. Building Trades II follows with two sections and around 40-50 students. From that, students need to apply for admittance into the Building Trades III program," he said, and be in good standing from the two prerequisites.

"They must have letters of recommendation and have a proven job performance and skill set, along with a stellar understanding of safety. I limit the number of kids enrolled to 12-14 kids. Last year I had 13 applicants get in to the class," he said.

The application process requires filling out a questionnaire, career profile, and getting letters of recommendation.

"The process can be a bit time consuming but the students who have a real construction interest put the time in and complete the application process. Students also need to be on pace for graduation and have all their core subjects in," Olson added.

The teacher said he talks to the students in the prerequisite classes about what they need to do in order to get into the house project.

"Most of the students plan their schedules out years in advance in order to fit the Building Trades III class into their schedule," he said.

"This year's student-built home has already been sold. In today's market, I think that speaks for itself as to the quality of construction and attention to detail," Olsen said.