The Oregon Department of Education announced today that the Hermiston School District is the recipient of a nearly $400,000 grant which will be used to revitalize a portion of its Career and Technical Education Program.
In partnership with the Northeast Oregon Homebuilder’s Association (NEOHBA), the grant will help fund a student homebuilding program, referred to as the Columbia Basin Student Homebuilders Program (CBSHP). Students will begin construction on their first single-family residence in the fall of 2014.
“The Hermiston community has longed for a program like this: a hands-on, job-embedded, first-class student construction and engineering program where students work shoulder to shoulder with local contractors, engineers, and consultants,” said Wade Smith, deputy superintendent and grant submitter.
READ EXCERPT FROM GRANT APPLICATION
Through a unique partnership with the NEOHBA, students will receive approximately eight hours of in-class seminar instruction from an NEOHBA member, learning about the individual’s specific trade and mastering the skills necessary for the jobsite. The classroom experience will then be applied onsite, where students will work collaboratively with the NEOHBA contractor or vendor to install or construct the phase of the home being worked upon.
“A program like this can have a profound impact on a multitude of youth, exposing them to a wide variety of career and technical skills and trades in high demand,” said Smith. “We are delighted and overwhelmed by the support from our local tradesmen associated with the NEOHBA.”
Smith incorporated both the Stanfield and Umatilla school districts into the grant proposal to ensure the program impacts more than just Hermiston students.
“The grant will offer a middle school component, exposing students to construction technology, as well as summer school internships and after hours’ opportunities for high school students from the two neighboring communities,” Smith said.
The grant funds will be used to pay for a full-time adviser/teacher, as well as provide the necessary resources for the first home and neighborhood development costs. Like other student home-building programs across the state, revenues from the first home sale will then be used to provide the necessary funds to begin the next home.
“We had performed a tremendous amount of research into this project before submitting the grant,” said Smith. “Like the Forest Grove School District Viking Program, who has produced a home or major project every year since 1975, we are planning on completing a high quality new home every year to year and a half.”
