Charger News

Construction Technology class building a future

Amanda Phillips, Charger Staff

Behind the school building every day there is a class of young men hammering, sawing, and building a house.

I had a chance to talk to construction class teacher Randy Mansell about his classes.

After twenty years of construction he said he decided he needed a change, and this class was it. He had always enjoyed working with teenagers, and he admires their ability to work under pressure.

Every year his class builds a house but come the end of the year, it is gone. At the end of the year the house is auctioned off or sold. When the houses are sold, the money goes for supplies for the next year and the whole process starts all over again.

How are the students graded on the building of the house? Grades are based on daily participation, tests, and quizzes.

The houses are built in different stages. By the end of the first semester the entire outside should be put up- all the baseboard in place, the walls and studs put up. By the end of second semester, the entire inside should be ready including the drywall, painted walls, and furniture in place.

Mansell expects his students to have an understanding of basic carpentry and woodwork, and to give their absolute all.

Article prepared for web by Joy Wheeler