Essex Technical High School is partnering with North Shore Habitat for Humanity to build a home in Hamilton. Students in school’s Construction Technology Academy 11th and 12th grade program have already started work on the two-bedroom home as part of the program’s annual house-building project.
“Partnering with North Shore Habitat for Humanity seemed a natural fit for us,” said Essex Tech Community Relations and Partnership Coordinator Carissa Karakaedos. “The house-building project gives our Construction Academy students the hands-on training and experience we pride ourselves in providing. Teaming up with Habitat added another dimension of community and service for our students.
The Construction Academy is made up of seven programs: Arboriculture, Carpentry, Electricity, HVAC & Refrigeration, Landscape & Turf Management, Masonry & Tile Setting, and Plumbing. The outside instructors from each of the programs met with Habitat for Humanity Project Manager Hers Ratzer to review construction plans and create a timeline for the project. Students first began work in the fall and a completion and dedication of the home is scheduled for November 2017.
Thus far, Arboriculture students have cleared the Asbury Street site and removed trees. Masonry and Landscape students have removed forms on the foundation and applied waterproofing and insulation to the foundation while Carpentry students have made preparations for a deck and pre-fabricated window and door frames in the school’s shop for transport to the site when needed. Once the house is weather tight, the Electrical, Plumbing and HVAC programs will begin their work.
“Our students will experience every facet of home building,” added Karakaedos.
The North Shore Habitat for Humanity is affiliated with the international organization Habitat for Humanity, Inc., and it works in partnership with low-income families using volunteer labor and donated materials to renovate old houses or build new, inexpensive homes which are sold to families as cost with no profit and no interest.
ABOUT ESSEX TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
Essex Technical High School opened in 2014 and represents the visionary work of leaders from our seventeen member districts, along with the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, in merging the North Shore Technical High School, Essex Agricultural High School, and programs from Peabody High School. The Career and Technical education experience at Essex Tech is comprised of twenty-four program offerings clustered within four academies. Its mission is to create a culture of academic and technical excellence, encourage continuous intellectual growth, and promote professionalism, determination, and citizenship for all students. Essex Tech is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Further information on the school may be found at http://www.essextech.net.