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In May of 1997, NeighborWorks Great Falls approached local school district officials with an idea for a construction-skills training opportunity for high school students. The thought was to build homes using the students from the advanced building trades classes, starting in the fall of 1998 to provide plenty of time for planning.
“The high school principals and industrial trades teachers were so excited by the idea that they decided to 'go for it,‘ starting in the fall of 1997, just four months after the initial idea was brought to them,” says Sheila Rice, NeighborWorks Great Falls executive director. “With the program off and running, students from the two Great Falls high schools worked together to build one home, then the students asked to expand the program the next fall so that each high school could build its own home for a family in need.”
Fast forward to 2016: NeighborWorks and the high school students have completed three dozen houses. Thirty-five low-income families have become homeowners (two more this spring) and approximately 900 students have gained critical training and work experience through the innovative program that provides on-the-job training to students as they build homes for low-income families who could not otherwise afford them.
In the program, students from local high schools’ advanced building trade classes help build the homes from dirt to doorknobs. The students learn all phases of residential construction, as well as soft job skills such as working in inclement weather, reporting to work on time and getting along with a crew. Students from other classes, such as metal working, interior design and landscaping, also contribute their skills.
NeighborWorks Great Falls serves as the general contractor, provides the building lots and sells the completed homes to low-income families in the community. “The homes are sold at the appraised price, but NeighborWorks is able to offer deferred mortgages so the first mortgage payment is affordable,” adds Rice.
The City of Great Falls Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and local business partners also contribute to the program’s success. For example, Falls Construction has donated the excavation for the foundation on nearly every home. Some of the construction financing is provided by the CDBG, and, because the home replaces a former blighted building, the entire neighborhood benefits.
Rice says the Great Falls High School House program is a win-win for all involved. “The students win with construction trades training, the homebuyer wins with quality construction and affordable mortgage payments, the city wins with a higher tax base and the neighborhood wins because a new home improves the block.”
School district officials say nearly a dozen students who are at high risk for dropping out end up staying in school until graduation because of their involvement in the High School House program. The students themselves say the ability to learn outside the classroom for several hours a day makes them better students in math and English and other subjects.
“The high school principals and industrial trades teachers were so excited by the idea that they decided to 'go for it,‘ starting in the fall of 1997, just four months after the initial idea was brought to them,” says Sheila Rice, NeighborWorks Great Falls executive director. “With the program off and running, students from the two Great Falls high schools worked together to build one home, then the students asked to expand the program the next fall so that each high school could build its own home for a family in need.”
Fast forward to 2016: NeighborWorks and the high school students have completed three dozen houses. Thirty-five low-income families have become homeowners (two more this spring) and approximately 900 students have gained critical training and work experience through the innovative program that provides on-the-job training to students as they build homes for low-income families who could not otherwise afford them.
In the program, students from local high schools’ advanced building trade classes help build the homes from dirt to doorknobs. The students learn all phases of residential construction, as well as soft job skills such as working in inclement weather, reporting to work on time and getting along with a crew. Students from other classes, such as metal working, interior design and landscaping, also contribute their skills.
NeighborWorks Great Falls serves as the general contractor, provides the building lots and sells the completed homes to low-income families in the community. “The homes are sold at the appraised price, but NeighborWorks is able to offer deferred mortgages so the first mortgage payment is affordable,” adds Rice.
The City of Great Falls Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and local business partners also contribute to the program’s success. For example, Falls Construction has donated the excavation for the foundation on nearly every home. Some of the construction financing is provided by the CDBG, and, because the home replaces a former blighted building, the entire neighborhood benefits.
Rice says the Great Falls High School House program is a win-win for all involved. “The students win with construction trades training, the homebuyer wins with quality construction and affordable mortgage payments, the city wins with a higher tax base and the neighborhood wins because a new home improves the block.”
School district officials say nearly a dozen students who are at high risk for dropping out end up staying in school until graduation because of their involvement in the High School House program. The students themselves say the ability to learn outside the classroom for several hours a day makes them better students in math and English and other subjects.
