Nineteen Career Academy students to help build a house

Students enrolled in one of the DMACC Newton Campus Career Academy’s 11 programs can gain valuable skills, earn both high school and college credits, and can help build a house.

The last item mentioned might not sound like a typical project — even for a unique dual-enrollment college class. But that’s what the 19 students in the Career Academy’s building trades/finish carpentry program are doing, and DMACC faculty hope the project gives students useful trade skills — as well as a sense of community pride.

“We hope these students can take friends or family there, years from now, and say ‘I helped build that house,’” said DMACC professor Dale Hedrick. “Being able to build a house really appeals to a lot of students.”

The house, to be located on a lot on East 28th Street South in Newton, doesn’t have its foundation poured yet, but Hedrick is hoping some of the outdoor work — including framing and roofing — can be done before winter weather arrives, so that the students can work indoors. There are functions that must be performed by licensed contractors, such as plumbing and electrical, but much of the carpentry can be done by students and then inspected.

There are 12 area juniors or seniors who attend the two-hour morning class before reporting to their high school campuses, and seven who come for the afternoon session. They receive both high school credit and DMACC credit hours, which can be used as elective credit if a student chooses not to pursue a building-trades certificate or degree.

All five high schools in Jasper County — Newton, Lynnville-Sully, Colfax-Mingo, Baxter and Prairie City-Monroe — are represented in this year’s class, Hedrick said.

Colfax-Mingo senior Jake Buehrer comes down to DMACC in Newton for the class, then returns to Colfax for Tigerhawk football practice that starts in the mid-afternoon.

“I heard about the idea last year, and I liked it,” Buehrer said. “I’m hoping that after graduation, I can go into a carpenter’s union quickly, and into an apprenticeship program.”

Building-trades students from the Career Academy are set to help build a house on this site in southeast Newton this year. There are 19 students in the dual-enrollment program — and at least one from each of the county’s five school districts.

Hedrick said some sections or sub-projects of the home’s construction can be completed in a Career Academy shop and shipped carefully to the site, as a back-up plan, but the best practice is to have students work on site, once they demonstrate they know how to use construction tools.

“Safety is always first,” Hedrick said. “They have to know what they’re doing with each tool. They also have to show they have both perseverance and patience.”

The Career Academy’s director, Terry Norton, said the program is conducted with the help of the Student Builders Association, a subsidiary of Rotary International. The Newton Rotary Club and Newton Schools have a long history of helping students build structures, in one form or another.

There are 18 boys and one girl in the program this year. Hedrick said it’s helpful to have design input from both genders.

“Sometimes, girls see things that boys don’t see,” Hedrick said.

To learn more about the Career Academy’s Building Trades program, contact Hedrick at 641-791-5163 or dahedrick@dmacc.edu.