The building and trades class has almost wrapped up its finishing touches on the annual house project. Teacher Jon Shellenberger and his students build something in the community every year, his way of helping the community in which he lives and works. This house is number 20 for Shellenberger. While Shellenberger is trying to better the community one build at a time, he is also trying to teach his students valuable skills and lessons they will use in their futures. He tries to teach them simple builds that they may use in both their personal lives and future careers.
“I think it’s really important to get young people excited and interested in the trades. There’s a big need for new workers coming into the workforce, and it can be a very rewarding, financially stable job. There’s a lot of work out there. It’s jobs that AI or computers aren’t going to replace. You’ll always need carpenters, plumbers, and electricians. And just to be able to give students who are interested kind of a foot in the door to the opportunities that are available to them and to help them find those, find the right place for them as they graduate and get into the workforce,” said Shellenberger.
Shellenberger likes to add little unique touches to each build, and they do so that it stands out in a quiet way. On this build, the students made a built-in pantry cabinet that was put into the house, and they also put in a built-in bookcase in the master bedroom.
This house is located at 603 Fair Street in Paoli. Usually, there is a buyer already lined up to have the house when it is finished, but that is not the case this time.
This project was financed by Paoli residents Daniel and Holly Springer, and now it will be put on the market to be sold. The class will finish any last-minute projects before the school year is out, preparing it to be sold.
This house was started at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year and will be finished by the last week of school. Even though Shellenberger is very hands-on in these projects, he likes to have certain capable students take more control of the projects. This year, students who were mainly involved in this build were the five seniors in the class. Shellenberger likes for them to take bigger roles in the projects because they have been with him through the whole pathway, and most of them plan to have careers in the construction field.
There will be an open house on Wednesday, May 18, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.