MAVA Collogues,
Exciting news from MAVA member Taconic High School in Pittsfield. We congratulate our colleagues for expanding opportunities for their Chapter 74 vocational technical students.
David
Taconic students partner with Habitat for Humanity to build a new home
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>By Nate Harrington, The Berkshire Eagle
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About a dozen students in Taconic’s Career and Technical Education program helped Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity build a new home on Thursday at 37 Curtis Terrace in Pittsfield.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
PITTSFIELD — At a construction site off Tyler Street on Thursday morning, the noise of nail gun firing, hammers striking and electric saws whirring filled the air as a crew of workers helped build a new home from the ground up.
But instead of seasoned, professional tradesmen and women, it was more than a dozen high school students framing out the foundationfor a home that is expected to be completed within the year.
Students from Taconic High School’s Career and Technical Education program are getting hands-on experience at a Habitat for Humanity job site, making the leap from building bird houses in the classroom to an actual home.
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Students from Taconic High School’s Career and Technical Education program get hands-on experience at a Habitat for Humanity job site in Pittsfield.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
The high school has had a partnership with Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity — a local, nonprofit home builder — for the past few years. Now, the nonprofit has handed over its site project on 37 Curtis Terrace to the students — an important step, teachers say, for the students.
Habitat for Humanity relists Pittsfield 3-bed, 2-bath home with deep affordability subsidy
"They’re actually going to make something that’s going to be here for a long time, and that is one of the things that they’ve been asking for," said Peerayot Noummano, a Taconic teacher and on-site instructor. "They want to do this."
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"I love doing this. I want to do this when I’m out of high school, too, and just keep going with the construction," said Cody Errichetto, a junior in the carpentry program.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
The students brought the construction site to life on the cold Thursday morning. There was the occasional side conversation, but the students’ tools mostly did the early-morning chattering.
"This is like tough conditions, and yet they’re powering through," Noummano said.
Although temperatures eventually rose above freezing, the day remained overcast. Still, about a dozen students milled about the worksite in high spirits.
Jacob Schweizer, a junior in the carpentry program at Taconic, said he felt being outside in the elements working on the home "builds our character, builds our brain, our integrity, how we take everything in life."
Cody Errichetto, another junior, agreed. "It makes us work harder, be more careful, use skills that we’ve been learning."
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"Normally you go to work, you go there for a paycheck," said Peerayot Noummano, a Taconic teacher and on-site instructor. "These kids are going in there because they want to learn, they want to be here, they want they want to advance their skills."
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
The students honed these skills over their first two years in the program, building smaller projects in the classroom. The program is one of many offered by the city’s vocational school.
Still, the skills used to build full-sized projects aren’t easily replicable in the confines of a school setting, said Marcie Simonds, supervisor of career and technical education at Taconic.
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"My freshman year of carpentry, I thought saw it was more of a woodworking program rather than a construction program, but nonetheless, I’m very happy that I took it," said Jacob Schweizer, a junior in the carpentry program at Taconic, as to why he took the program.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
"The skills that they’re getting here on site are just incredible," she said.
The culmination of the Taconic students’ work will be a finished home almost entirely built by them, something that should be completed within the year, Simonds said.
This opportunity isn’t lost on students who’ve spent years building smaller projects, Schweizer said.
"We finally get to put it all together and make something," Errichetto said.
"This is gonna make a mark; this is a testament to us," Schweizer said. "It’s going to be here until we’re dead."
Once the house is finished, Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity will sell it through its selection process.
The funds for the project came from the American Rescue Plan Act as a three-site award, according to Erin O’Brien, the communications manager at Habitat.
Taconic’s construction is projected to cost more than $400,000, but the actual sale price of the home will be much lower, O’Brien said. The organization is still waiting on other awards and donations to reduce the future homeowner’s cost, something they cannot calculate until closer to project completion.
When cold can kill, what help is available for people without shelter? And how can you help?
"It’s a twofold benefit — the community benefits, because they’re participating with Habitat for Humanity, and [students are] getting those necessary trade-related to skills," Simonds said.
Chapter 74 Vocational Technical & Agricultural Education
LEARNING THAT WORKS FOR MASSACHUSETTS
David J. Ferreira
MAVA Communications Coordinator
DavidFerreira