Opportunities found in school retrofit

Press Release
February 12, 2015
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Antioch High School students are using an unfortunate situation to hammer down an opportunity.

Teacher Kevin Jones’ engineering projects and community service class is building two shacks for the school’s security guards, forced to sit in their cars at the two entry points of the school while it undergoes construction.

“It’s really about these (students) learning practical skills for jobs that are out there,” said Jones, who guides the one-hour class of seniors each morning. “Maybe they will have a home someday or will need to understand what they are having done on their home.”

For some of the 29 students, it’s the first time they’ve ever used a hammer or fired up power tools, but slowly the class is building the two 6-by-8-foot buildings from the ground up.

The students are part of the school’s Academy of Engineering (AOE) which was developed by the National Academy Foundation (NAF) to answer an acute need for engineers in the United States. The AOE educates high school students in the principles of engineering and prepares them to pursue opportunities in a growing field.
 The AOE was launched in 2007 as a collaboration between NAF, Project Lead the Way (PLTW), and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering Inc. (NACME) to provide underrepresented students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in STEM careers.
Like professional architects, the students first met with the school’s site safety personal to determine the desirable features of the shack, including the preferable placement of doors and windows.

From there, the students went to work. Less than two months after they started the project, the group hopes to finish the walls this week and complete the project by March.

“What we are doing is really going to help the school,” said student Keith Tracy. “I’ve learned how to hammer a nail, get measurements and make the right cuts.”

The students plan to put siding on the shacks and wrap them in 15-pound felt paper to make them fully waterproof. The huts, which are framed much like a house, will have fully operable windows that allow the guards to look out each direction, and may also feature vents to promote airflow during the hot summer months. If time allows, the class might build some cabinetry inside the shacks to add desk space.

This week, the class shop looked more like a construction zone, with half-formed walls propped against the building and the sound of hammering in the air.

“Let me show you how it’s done,” said student Anthony Gibbs to his classmates, as he got ready to hammer in a nail.

Jones said progress on the project is slow because the class only meets for an hour a day and many students are just learning how to use tools, but it’s all part of the fun. The school’s civil engineering and architecture classes, who routinely design projects using computers, are also using the venture to witness what a finished project looks like.

“It’s a matter of putting into practice what they have been learning  — how to do design work, ask the right questions to meet the clients’ needs and putting their hands on tools many of them have never touched before,” Jones said.

As for the students, many of them say a day in the shop trumps a day in the classroom.

“After first semester, we’ve been in the shop everyday and I’ve loved every minute of it,” said student Daniel Martin.

Jones said if money allows, he’d like to do similar projects every year.

“Just think, at the end of this project, these students will be able to look at this project and think, ‘I did that,’” Jones said.

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