VIGO COUNTY, Ind – There are many who comment that there needs to be more vocational education in the schools and while that is open for debate, there is already a program in Vigo County Schools that is teaching students how to build homes. It’s all a part of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) efforts of the Vigo County School Corporation.
Kevin McCrea is a 20-year veteran of the building trades and he has 17 years of teaching experience. He teaches nearly 40 students the basics of construction in “The Trades” subdivision.
The class of Vigo County Students from all three county high schools, is building the 7th house on the Cul-De-Sac.
Since the program was started in the early 80’s there have been around 30 houses built.
McCrea says that students learn all the basics of building a house under careful supervision. He said that there is a misconception that since the house is built by students the quality might be sub-par. He said that is not the case and the quality is better than you might expect.
The floor plans and designs come from Stephanie Driggers who was in the program in 1998 and is now an architect.
Officials say that there is a big demand for the skills that these students have.
After completing six trimesters of classes, students are eligible for a $2,000 state college scholarship or if they choose, they can join the carpenter’s union and qualify for a slightly higher pay rate.
Garrett Padgett is an 18-year-old senior at West Vigo.
He said that he wants to work as an electrician or possibly a lineman. Padgett said that those jobs are not something that he considered before the program. He added that the teachers are the best and that he is learning a lot.