Students build house from the ground up

Stillwater Area High School students are building a solid foundation for their future by helping build a house. Eight students took part in the construction occupations program through 916 Career and Technical Center (Miguel Acosta, Cade Coleman, Erik Houle, Sean Pineda, Samuel Spivey, Jacob Swanson, Antony Tuttle, Jesus Valdovinos.) From framing and drywall to electrical and plumbing, flooring and tiling to siding and landscaping, they and other local students built a house from the ground up.

For the past 25 years, area students have been revitalizing the city of North St. Paul by building affordable, modern, and high-quality housing along side industry partners. The program is the only one in the state where students get real-world experience constructing a full-sized house on site; students spend only 10 percent of their time in a traditional classroom.

Students get a well-rounded education, while practicing teamwork and making important professional connections with the tradespeople they encounter on the job. Many students go on to pursue a career in the trades or construction management, others take a different path. All of them leave with basic skills to maintain their homes in the future.