When the students in Township High School District 211’s building trades program decide to build a house, they really build a house — complete with a price tag well into the six figures.
All five district high schools recently held open houses showcasing the homes built this year by juniors and seniors.
The three-bedroom home at 1060 Bluebird Ln. in Roselle, built by the students at Hoffman Estates High School, for example, was no small undertaking. At 3,600 square feet, the home has a large family room with wood-burning fireplace, as well as a spacious kitchen and sunroom.
A dining room and living room with two-story, vaulted ceilings and inlaid hardwood flooring complete the home’s first floor, while the second floor comprises a master bedroom suite, two smaller bedrooms, a full bath and a computer loft.
Almost everything in the house has been installed or built by one of the 60 students enrolled in the program, according to Randy Stennett, who has been teaching the building trades at Hoffman Estates High School for 25 years.
“Pretty much everything in the interior has been done by the students,” Stennett said. “We framed the building, did the roof, installed the cabinets and the light fixtures.”
Just about the only work not done by the students was the bricklaying, the plumbing and electrical work, because they are specialized trades, Stennett said.
All five houses built by the district have been sold and include houses built by students at Hoffman Estates, Conant, Fremd, Palatine and Schaumburg High Schools, Stennett said. The house built by the Hoffman Estates students sold in March for $412,000 in a neighborhood where some houses sell for much more, he said.
“We don’t make a profit out of the houses,” Stennett said. “We just get what we put in so that we have money to build with again next year. Sometimes the homeowners get a pretty good deal.”
In most cases the student-built homes are sold through a process in which prospective buyers submit sealed bids based on a minimum price set by the district, said Reece Thome, the district’s director of career development. The highest bidder receives the home, and the proceeds are used to buy new lots, supplies and equipment for the next year’s program.
More than 600 people typically attend the District 211 open houses. At the Hoffman Estates house, Stennett put up 25 photographs in the living room and dining room depicting each house his students have built.
Each year, the program sees students enter the building trades. Brad Richter, 18, a senior from Hoffman Estates. Richter, has been in the program for two years and will enter a four-year apprenticeship with the carpenters union in Elk Grove Village later this year.
“I send about five or six students a year into apprenticeships,” Stennett said. “I only send the best, because I don’t want to be wasting anybody else’s time.”
Richter says the experience in the program has helped prepare him for a career in carpentry.
Regardless of whether a student wishes to pursue a career in the building trades, Stennett thinks the program is invaluable. Not only does it teach future homeowners how to tackle home improvement projects, but it also endows students with a strong sense of teamwork.
Other student-built houses in the District 211 program include 90 W. Aldridge Ave. in Palatine, built by the students at Fremd; 460 Amherst St., Palatine, built by students attending Palatine; 736 Crest Ave., Schaumburg, built by students at Schaumburg; and 1100 Bluebird Lane, Roselle, built by students from Conant.
