Massachusetts Students Are Learning About the Skilled Trades by Building Homes

Since the 1980s, students at Comprehensive High School, in Chicopee, Mass., have been building homes for their local community with the help of a nonprofit organization that helps them fund all elements of the construction. Carl Ingram, director of Career Technical Education for the School Department, oversees the annual project, called Student Builders Inc., which provides students with a hands-on look into the residential construction process, ending with the students actually selling their finished product.

The most recent project started by Student Builders was brought to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the meantime, the Chicopee Housing Authority is lining up smaller projects for the students to build oversized sheds, MassLive Media reports.

The Student Builders organization also allows the work to move forward financially. The nonprofit sells the homes students build, the profits are used to purchase the next plot of land, and capital is used to leverage construction loans, Ingram said.

The programs have also used profits to purchase equipment used by students such as generators, pipe staging, air nailers and safety straps for students to use when they are working on a roof. It also funds some scholarships for graduates who are going to college or may need tools as they begin careers, Ingram said.

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