Students at Taylorville High School are getting hands-on experience in homebuilding.  It’s part of their Building Trades program, consisting of multiple comprehensive courses for students beyond their freshman year.  In the program, students use the skills they’ve gained to work on building houses which can then be bought and moved into.  Organizers have used community support and donations to help make the program and its positive outcomes a reality. 

Matt Blomquist runs the Building Trades program.  He says the first step for students is an introductory course.  They can take one of two courses which cover the necessary concepts. 

The homebuilding process takes longer than the length of the main course to complete.  As such, cohorts will simply aim to make as much progress as possible, and the next cohort continues from there.

Blomquist says learning how to build homes is not the only learning outcome.  By witnessing the finer components of a home, students learn that the fine architectural elements and energy efficiency can add more quality than the aesthetics.  This experience can be valuable for students who house-hunt for themselves later.

The school acquired the lots for many of the constructed homes through donations or low cost from several businesses and community members. 

Blomquist has been honored for his work.  In 2022, he received the Harbor Freight Tools For Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. 

More information on Taylorville High School is available at ths.tcusd3.org. 

Matt Blomquist appeared as a guest on the WTIM Morning Show as part of our monthly Taylorville Schools Good News Segment.