SIOUX CITY — The Sioux City school district’s new construction trades program has progressed faster than expected, with two houses estimated to be completed this semester.
This summer, the school district’s Career Academy finished construction on a 12,000-square-foot addition to the Harry Hopkins Center, located along Business Highway 75. Courses started in the fall, with 37 students. The group is made up of a mixture of juniors and seniors, spending half of their day at the trade facility.
The addition is intended to provide a controlled environment for students to build two houses simultaneously. It is a fairly simple building with one large bay for a classroom and work space.
“I think this is the start of something that could be the future of education in our country,” Career Academy Principal Eric Kilburn said. “It used to be ‘we’re going to college,’ but the job market now is telling us, we can pay kids more than they would make after a four-year degree right out of high school.”
In June 2022, the school board accepted a $3.8 million bid from H&R Construction of South Sioux City for the project. The total cost was $4.15 million, including architectural and engineering fees.
Classes started in the fall with building a house for Habitat for Humanity as well as a district-owned house. The district-owned house is more than 1,500 square feet and was originally expected to be completed over two years.
Both houses have been progressing quickly, despite a slight delay in construction material arrival. On Feb. 1, the students were working on the siding of the district-owned house with the next steps being insulation and drywalling. Rick Niles said they expect to be able to complete both houses this semester.
Brothers Rick and Gary Niles teach the program. Rick is a retired federal probation officer and was teaching in the police science program at Western Iowa Tech Community College, and Gary was a chief juvenile court officer. They have built more than 200 houses together, including their own homes.
During the day, students are broken up into groups to tackle different aspects of the project, Rick Niles said. They are graded on the day based on a variety of factors including timeliness, cleanliness, tool care, attention and so on.
“We’ve really learned to put kids in positions that fit their skill sets,” Niles said.
With the help of community businesses and local trade unions, the pair have been teaching the students the ins and outs of construction and the different opportunities available to them.
With every product or material the students are going to work with, Niles said a YouTube video exists of someone explaining how the material works and how to install it. Often, the instructors will show the students videos so they understand why and how they are doing the installation. This is paired with the in-class instruction and the hands-on instruction to give a full view of what the project is.
So far, Niles said many of the students loved doing the roofing. Both Jamie Garcia and Jesus Ruiz said they enjoyed the roofing aspect of the project.
Garcia, a junior at North High said she enjoys the program because it’s completely hands-on. So far, her favorite part was framing the houses.
“It’s where you’re really learning ‘this is real’ and because it’s where you start to learn, ‘I can actually do this, this is an option,” she said.
Garcia hopes to join the electrical union after graduation. Before joining this course, she wanted to go into the welding career.
Ruiz, a junior at North High, said he was taking a welding class when he heard about the construction program and decided to join. He also said his favorite part was framing and roofing the house. He is considering going into the electrical trade after high school.
Ruiz said students should join the course and learn skills that may help them in the future or give them a different career opportunity.
Omar Orozco-Perez said he took the course because his dream job is buying and flipping houses.
Niles said one of the more difficult parts of creating a program like this is figuring out how long things are going to take compared to a traditional construction setting. He said they will be working to restructure the program for next year and implement other projects throughout the year to keep kids engaged, such as sheds and possibly other projects for the community.
“It makes us have to kind of change gears and figure out in years to come how are we going to configure that,” Niles said. “What other types of sheds or similar projects [can we do] to fill time but also to get exposure to other types of things.”
Later this semester, the students will build a storage facility for the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
Niles said the juniors currently in the course will be able to pick up a house project right away next year without learning safety, equipment and how-to’s.
“Just imagine by Christmas we could be this far or even farther” on the house, he said.
District administration visited other schools with similar programs, including Sioux Falls, Harrisburg, South Dakota and Cherry Creek, Colorado, to model the program.
Niles said in Sioux Falls, the students were building an elaborate playhouse out of scrap lumber to give students another opportunity to practice.
At the end of the two-year program, the students will have received four different certificates, OSHA certification and a construction management diploma.