Program Description
The Big Skills (BS) program at San Rafael High School has two levels of training; the upper-level is Big Skills team members receiving approximately 900 hours of hands-on training per school year. The other level is San Rafael High School students receiving approximately 140 hours of hands-on training per year, through their enrollment in the Building and Construction Trades class.
Sean Ticknor, Executive Director and founder of BS, leads a team of four or five BS team members to build two small homes. During the build, San Rafael High School students will participate in the construction during their Building and Construction Trades class periods. The project takes one school year to complete.
Each of the BS team members will lead four or five high school students through the same disciplines they are learning. This will increase the depth of learning for the BS team members as well as maintaining a very small student to teacher ratio that is critical for teaching construction skills. The structure of the program will also encourage development of communication and leadership skills for the BS team members, as well as creating two small homes during the academic year.
A small home was selected as an ideal construction project for the following reasons:
It exposes students to a variety of available careers in the trades
It results in a tangible product that students can feel proud to make
It can be completed in a reasonable time frame
It will help with the housing shortage
The small home will be approximately 200 square feet large, and include a living space, modern bathroom, and complete kitchen. Like any other typical home, it will have plumbing, electricity, wood framed walls with windows and doors, and roofing. It will be finished with carpet, drapes, dishes, and decor. The home will be energy efficient and recycled building materials will be used, when possible.
For more information, go to Big Skills
