After a decade of educating youth in the community, Building Futures Cochrane hosted a special exhibition learning event at a duplex built from the ground up by local students and Kingsmith Builders on June 13.
The two units located in Rivercrest Common, showcased project that they worked on during one full academic year.
Craig Wiens, owner and president of Kingsmith Builders, said the program hosts Grade 10 students outside of a traditional school setting.
“We build them a classroom, they get two full-time teachers for the whole year, and they build an entire house with us,” Wiens explained. “They work with all of our trades in small groups, going through and doing everything from the foundation to plumbing fixtures.”
This year, the students built two duplexes measuring 1,350 square feet, each with three bedrooms. Although Wiens cannot disclose the actual price each specific unit sold for, he said they sold for approximately $580,000.
Wiens said the biggest payoff for him was seeing the students develop, change, learn, and grow through the year. He said that without the support from the teachers from Rocky View Schools, this would not have been possible.
“I keep telling the school board that if they don’t send me good teachers, we’re not doing the program, so Rocky View has been amazing in sending really solid educators,” he said. “They’re more than teachers, they really do invest into these kids’ lives, get to know them, and to help them set goals, so that their lives have a little more purpose and direction.”
Grade 10 student, Piper Halliday, said their full academic year saw them learn from the garages that they built.
“When we first got here, the ground wasn’t even dug up yet, so we were still waiting on that, which was very cool because we got to help with every single part, every step of the way,” she said. “From framing, drywalling, carpeting, electrical, and everything in between.”
She outlines it was a very cool experience to build something with her fellow friends and classmates, and celebrate it at the Exhibition of Learning.
“Who can say that they built an entire house that a family can live in,” Halliday said. “Especially with this growing community, I think it’s very important that we get everyone involved and everyone together, and I just though that it was so cool.
“It’s three schools that did this: Cochrane High, Bow Valley High, and Springbank High.”
Although it’s too early to tell if this is a line of work that she plans on pursuing, she said that this will play a significant role to see where her education will take her.
She would like to thank her family for supporting her through this program, and Weins for giving students the chance to experience this program.
“Without him, this program would never be possible,” Halliday said.
