Imagine going to school at a construction site. The classroom is the house you're building and a tool belt takes the place of your backpack.
For students involved in the Housing Construction/Building Trades course, this scene is a reality. Every school day, students from FHS, Whitefish, Bigfork and FVCC meet on South Woodland Avenue to continue work on the student-built structure. The morning block is mainly from FHS and the afternoon block is from Whitefish and Bigfork. FVCC students can be found at the site all day.
Students from FHS have worked on the house "usually everyday for three hours since the middle of October," said senior Noah Culver, "even through the blizzards."
The class is building a 1,800-square-foot, three-bedroom, one bath house, with a two-stall garage attached. According to general contractor Greg Waldrop, instructor of the construction course, the house should be completed by mid-May.
"It's going a lot faster than I thought it would," said senior Ty Thoeny. "Everyone's working on different areas."
At the beginning of the school year, students learned the basics of construction and built sheds for FVCC before going into the field. Students learn everything between "reading a tape measure to installing doors," said Thoeny.
"Since October (we've spent) most of the time on the job," said Culver. "Before October, there was a lot of class work. The excavation and the back-fill hadn't been started before school."
Besides challenging, data-specific tests, students are also graded on their performance in the field.
"There's classroom as well as field work," said Waldrop. "Sixty percent of the class is dependent on the work you do in the field. We build a house from top to bottom. You have to be pretty sharp - have to be pretty on top of things - and (the students) are doing really well."
"It's been kind of tough," said Thoeny. I took the class "to get out of school; I was getting sick of the school setting, (but) it's a lot harder than I thought it would be."
Despite the hard work and the cold weather, some students, like senior Shawna Hawk, are gaining some insight into their future careers. Hawk is planning on going into carpentry, and the class has played an important role in learning her future trade.
The class taught me "everything. I didn't know hardly anything about carpentry or building a house," said Hawk. "It's taught me a lot of responsibilities."
Those who haven't quite decided whether or not they would like carpentry as a job, still find the class fun and educational.
"It's like a real job to me," said Culver. "I've always wanted to be a carpenter, and now I know what it's like."
The City of Kalispell is the developer of the project. The Flathead Building Association buys the land, materials and tools for the class and receives the money from the sale of the house, which will probably go for less than $100,000.
"It's a win-win situation," said principal Cathy McDevitt. Through the exchange, students learn the art of construction in school and the FBA doesn't have to go very far to find skilled workers.
"I would definitely recommend (the class) to anyone who's even slightly interested," said Thoeny. "It's pretty tough work. It's a real educational class."
"I wouldn't encourage everyone to do (the class)," said Culver, because "it might not be their talent. But if people are interested, it's good to take this class. I'm enjoying swinging the hammer."