Woodstock 200′s program teaches students construction through building houses

Woodstock High School senior Erik Moctezuma said he’s not someone who can sit at a desk all day and wants to be “moving and using my hands.”

He had experience building things at home, such as porches. So, when his counselor told him about the district’s Building Trades program, he thought it was something that fit his interests.

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Erik Moctezuma, a senior in the Woodstock Building Trades Program, uses a chop saw as he builds stairs Monday, May 8, 2023, in the home that the program is building in Woodstock. This home will be the program’s 43rd completed home since the program began in 1972. (Gregory Shaver — gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver for Shaw Media )

“Seeing how it looks on paper and then to see it now all finished is really amazing,” he said. “I can see myself being in this [as a career].”

Woodstock School District 200′s Building Trades program was launched more than 50 years ago, and in that time has constructed nearly 43 houses, instructor Erich Parpart said.

Its newest one, at 1550 Sandpiper Lane in Woodstock, is nearing completion after two years of work, Parpart said. With students putting on the finishing touches throughout the rest of May, the bidding process for someone to buy the house also is beginning.

The asking price on the house will be $349,900 – a price approved by the district’s School Board – with the hopes of breaking even after a tumultuous last few years drove up the cost of production, Assistant Superintendent for Middle and High School Justin Smith said.

A program-built house typically goes for about $265,000, Parpart said, with the idea being to use the proceeds to fund building the next one.

“It has the chance to be a self-sustaining program,” Parpart said.

However, the purpose of the program is rooted in giving students the chance to learn an array of skills and expose them to a potential career, Parpart said. At the very least, they can walk away from the program with necessary skills for when they own their own house.

“I know I’m not going to grow an entire class of union electricians or plumbers,” Parpart said. “But once you own a home, this is what you can save. Once you know this, nobody can take it away from you.”

For Moctezuma, he said he wants to start his own business in the field, and specialize in tiling or framing.

Originally, the program built a house each year. But after about 40 years of doing it that way, that wasn’t seen as the best approach, Smith said. Attempting to build one each year took away from students’ experiences.

To start, the priority became to finish the house above all else, Smith said. That not only shifted the focus away from students but resulted in outside contractors doing much of the work.

While plumbing and electricity will have to be done by a professional regardless, taking two years to build gives students the chance to be involved in most processes and learn from professionals in areas they can’t directly work in, instead of those contractors coming while students are away.

With the current house wrapping up soon, work on the next one will begin in short order, Parpart said. A committee created for the program, which includes contractors, Realtors and district officials, works on the plans for upcoming houses.

The next one on the docket will be based on universal design – meaning it easily will be able to convert into a house for any age, Parpart said. Typically, transforming a house to fit someone once they get older can be costly, so designing it to be easily changed opens it up to more potential buyers.

Concrete on the plot will be poured over the summer, meaning students arriving in the fall will have a ready place to work.

Like the current house and the upcoming one, the goal is to create homes that appeal to the most amount of people so it sells easier, Parpart said.

There have been some talks to expand beyond just building a house, Smith said. But that hasn’t materialized, as either remodeling a house, or building an office space would not offer students the skills for which the program is designed, and in some cases could be out of budget.

The program also is not one like Habitat for Humanity, meaning they don’t build it in an effort to expand affordable housing, Smith said. However, building a house intended for lower-income residents isn’t off the table, but it would have to fit in the program’s budget. That though is made difficult since the program is funded through District 200.

“Our goal with the program is to break even and provide kids with experience,” Smith said. “It’s noble, but if you did that, it would take resources away from the district. ... It’s all about the kids. And I think we’re really, really proud of them.”