Late last month, hard-working carpentry students from Wadsworth, Barberton, Norton and Copley High Schools put the finishing touches to an energy-efficient home on Stratford Avenue in Wadsworth.
Seniors in the School’s built-in Four Schools program learn all aspects of home building, from estimating jobs, learning to read blueprints, laying the foundation, and framing—basically, what it takes to build a floor-to-roof home. Many of them do it themselves, with some jobs like sub-wiring for area businesses.
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Building a home is an annual project of the woodworking program, which is growing in popularity, said Roger Wright, director of the Four Cities Charter. Driven by interest in an increasingly well-paid applied career, students had to compete for slots to be accepted.
“This year, we had to make a choice [process]He said on April 29 in an on-site interview at his Stratford Avenue home. “We had 40 kids who applied for…25 sites.”
Professional programs get another look from students
In Ohio, more than 250,000 students participated in career and technical education programs in the 2019-2020 school year, with courses covering careers in carpentry to animal care, health, nursing, automotive technologies, cosmetics, construction, machinery, and information technology.
Students drive a host of reasons, ranging from wanting to start a career right after high school or skeptical about the value of a four-year degree. Others see a career path that provides expertise that will complement an undergraduate major in a related field.
For Norton High School student Braden Sullivan, the carpentry program provided expertise in an area that family members found satisfactory. His uncle is an electrician, Sullivan said, and he thinks of the business as one. The carpentry program seemed like an obvious choice.
“I didn’t want to sit in class all day – I love working,” he said. “I want to be an electrician. They make good money, and I love lighting and electronics.”
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in the construction industry can be financially rewarding.
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The median wage for a construction manager in Ohio, for example, is about $103,500 a year, according to May 2021 employment and wage estimates released by the bureau.
About 17,000 carpenters work in Ohio, with an average annual wage of $51,600.
Construction workers earn an average of $69,570, construction workers about $48,000, carpenters $51,000, and electricians $57,100. Electricians who install or repair substation lines earn approximately $84,000 per year.
Statewide, the median wage for all job categories is $53,170.
The project aligns with career paths
Copley High School student Muhammed Hussain said he wanted to apply what he learned to residential investing.
“I want to own my own construction project,” Hussain said. To build houses [and] turn them over “
Kendall Hahn, of Wadsworth High School, said her career path would be architecture. Helping her build and design the house helped give her a stronger understanding of what this would entail.
“It definitely gave more insight into the extent of planning that goes into the design of the home,” she said.
At first, Han said she wasn’t sure if the four-city integrated carpentry program was right for her.
“I was a little skeptical,” she said.
But after she joined the show, she never looked back.
“I would definitely like to design homes and see them built,” she said.
She said she hopes to open her own architectural firm in the future.
Wadsworth High School student Cole McNeil knew what he wanted to do because he was no older than a little kid.
“Since I was four,” he said, “I grew up with a hammer in my hand.”
His father owns a remodeling company, and McNeil sees this as a potential career.
“This program, compared to anything else I’ve seen or heard about, is much better,” he said.
Russell Hackathorn, a student at Barberton University, hopes the program will lead to a job right after he graduates from high school. He said he worked on the bedroom wardrobes and “a little bit of everything” for the project.
“Just building a house – it’s impressive,” he said. “I’m so glad I became a part of it.”
Dominion Energy Efficiency Scholarship
This year, Dominion Energy Ohio, after researching professional programs across Northeast Ohio, decided to get involved, adding an energy efficiency angle to its four-city compact home building program.
With a large grant, Dominion has challenged teachers and students to ramp up insulation and energy-efficiency equipment at home.
“We donated $20,000 in addition to what they already had with the expectation that the work they will do will satisfy the energy star [standards]said Mary E. Singer, the company’s energy efficiency program coordinator.
Cyngier said the energy giant is investing in energy efficiency with its customers, and is helping to achieve that goal.
“We do about 400 energy assessments per month,” she said. “… a design with an Energy Star rating will be very relevant to [the students] In the future.”
Earning an Energy Star rating is not simple – or inexpensive -. To do this, Singer said, several improvements are necessary to the home.
“To achieve the Energy Star rating, the students had to… include it [and] Improve the following items: Install a high-efficiency furnace, install Energy Star rated windows, properly insulate walls and attics, seal ductwork at every joint, and even insulate the basement floor,” she said in an email.
Chris Clay, a carpentry teacher on the project, said the focus on competence helped him and the students develop better techniques that they would apply next time.
“This is probably one of the most isolated homes in the area,” he said.
The house will be auctioned next month, and the profits will go to the carpentry program. Clay said the winning bidders would benefit.
“They should get at least 50% less [energy] Use more than usual,” he said. “We went overboard.”
Wright said students are involved in every stage of the project.
The Four Cities Charter is the only high school carpentry program in the area actually building a home, he said. It makes the program unique and effective.
“This is the woodworking program at Wadsworth,” he said.
Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.
Attempt?
For more information on how to bid on the 2,300-square-foot home that Four Cities Compact students helped build, call the small office at 330-335-1309. The energy-efficient home will be auctioned next month.