- March 12, 2025
In recent days, Matanzas High School’s building construction technology students have been installing shelving units and worktables in their new 1,560 square-foot workshop.
The program’s new facility is housed in the school’s Building 5 extension, which is expected to open after spring break. The new building will also include a new media center and classrooms for other Career Technical Education programs.
A perk for the building construction students is they received regular updates from HA Contracting Corp. throughout the nearly two-year construction process.
“We watched them lay the foundation and build the whole building,” senior Ian Knuff said. “It was a great learning experience.”
The building construction program’s new workshop will be roughly 760 square feet larger than its current workshop, program instructor Andy Douglas said. The workshop has a large garage door so they can receive and take in deliveries just like a real-life construction firm. A classroom with a large window looks out into the workshop. There is also an outdoor covered work area.
“We have room to grow the program here,” said junior Blaine Vogel. “With the garage door, we can do bigger projects in here.”
The students built all of the shelving and worktables that they have been installing
The building construction program has about 170 students and is one of the school’s largest programs of study, Assistant Principal Sara Novak said. They’ve had to cap their beginning students at 25, Douglas said, because their current workshop is too cramped.
“Here we may have the opportunity to expand, because it will be a lot safer to work in this bigger workshop,” Douglas said.
The program’s course sequence includes Building Construction Technology 1, Carpentry Layout and Carpentry Framing/Exterior. Students have the opportunity of earning three industry certifications by the time they graduate.
Each level has their own capstone project, such as a playhouse or shed for Carpentry 1 students, Douglas said. The more advanced levels have larger projects, such as the tiny house that the students are building on campus.
The upper level students are building a portable workshop for a competition in July for the Future Builders of America’s Southeast Builders Conference. It will have caster wheels, a chop saw, table saw and sliding shelves, the students said. Last year, they built a 4x8-foot outdoor kitchen and auctioned it off at the competition for a $1,000. The portable workshop will be the same size. Currently they are looking for sponsors for this year competition, they said.
Douglas, Matanzas High School’s Rookie Teacher of the Year, has taken the building construction program to new heights, Novak said.
“He has performed a really big facelift to get it where it needs to be for success,” she said. “When his students leave here, they will be prepared for a career in building construction.”
