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LM October 2019
provide them with the training needed to pursue a career in
the trades.
“We’re a small community, and we need people who have the
skills to work in the trades here,” said Jeff Fetcho, who’s in his
eighth year as superintendent. “This project is providing them
with a multitude of opportunities that you just can’t simulate in
a classroom.”
However, none of that would matter if Hamilton County CUSD
#10 didn’t have the right teacher to manage 13 students on a
construction site.
Two years ago, the district hired Josh Hamson as its
vocational arts teacher. Hamson turned to teaching after 12
years of running his own construction company and 18 years
total in the building trades.
Having an opportunity like this to train young men and women
for a career in the building trades is why he left his business,
Hamson said.
“This is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” he said.
“You can see firsthand how much the students are learning
and how much they are enjoying this.”
Before breaking ground on the project, the district had to
figure out the logistics and determine how much of the work
could be done by students.
The master schedule was changed and Hamson’s class was
double blocked and double credited, so students could spend
about 90 minutes each
morning at the job site.
The district elected for
a metal-framed building
because of the cost. Fetcho
also recommends to
superintendents interested
in following suit to make
sure students fill out legal consent forms and that the
work is done by upperclassmen who have taken some
vocational classes in their freshmen and sophomore
years, so they understand safety issues and the basics
of how to use power tools and other skills needed on
the job site.
While students are doing much of the work, some of it
had to be left to professionals.
A contractor poured the concrete foundation and
installed the roof and exterior walls, although students
chipped in when possible, like putting up the building
façade, Fetcho said.
The interior work is where students have been busiest,
framing all the walls and doors. Pretty soon, the
students will hang drywall and doors, as well as install
the trim and paint the walls. An electrician will wire the
building, but the students will help with the process too,
Fetcho said.
“The students have been involved from the ground up,”
he said.
Even more exciting for Hamilton County CUSD #10
is the doors the project is opening up. Fetcho said
the district has already had preliminary talks with
city officials about students building homes in the
community where dilapidated buildings now stand. It
sounds like Hamson and his students will be on board.
“This is definitely my
favorite class,” said
Noah Colclasure, a
senior. “I have loved
doing this, and I
now am definitely
interested in a job in
the trades.”