Over the years, the construction trades class has built many homes. This year marks their seventeenth house.

Construction Teacher Jon Shellenberger is currently leading his class to build a home for Deborah Brand. The house is located on Sandy Hook Road near IU Health Paoli Hospital.

Shellenberger has almost 30 students who are working on the project. The students who are in his upper-level construction courses help at the job site each school day whereas the students who are in the introductory principles of construction class help out once or twice a week.

Senior William Bottoms helps with a variety of work at the construction site, ranging from plumbing and siding to electrical.

“Seeing the progress being made is an amazing feeling, looking back at pictures of the foundation at the end and seeing a fully built house in its place is fulfilling,” said Bottoms.

Although a fullscale construction project aided by high school students might seem alarming at first, Shellenberger closely guides his students and makes sure they know what they are doing.

Shellenberger’s goal for the build is to help the students with general skills and knowledge in residential construction, construction safety and tool use so they will be ready to enter the construction industry after they graduate from high school. The house they are building currently is also giving them experience in building handicap-accessible homes.

Shellenberger has his students do a variety of work on-site, so they can get some background with all types of construction work. Students are able to help with things like wiring, framework, finishing carpentry and more.

“I have always felt that it is far better to offer the students a more real-life application to what they are learning. Through building a complete home, students not only gain the experience and training necessary but also develop a great sense of pride in putting their efforts into building something beautiful, long-lasting, and beneficial to the community as a whole,” said Shellenberger.

Since Shellenberger first started having his classes build houses, he has seen large improvements in their performance as well as attitude. He finds that students’ eagerness for getting real, hands-on experience with construction duties has allowed them to excel and enjoy the class overalls, taking pride in the hard work they do.

“This positive class atmosphere is one of the reasons that I feel the construction trades program has excelled and gained a reputation for a place where students are encouraged to work hard and can experience the fruits of that labor which is displayed by the 17 beautiful new homes around the community,” said Shellenberger.