Salem, Oregon – Governor Tina Kotek recently paid a visit to Amity High School, where a bustling construction trades classroom is turning students into builders—and changing lives across Oregon. John Stearns, the Career and Technical Education Director, runs the high school’s Construction Trades program. It gives students a chance to learn skills that they can use outside of school.
Governor Kotek talked to children who were working hard to build little houses as part of an expanding project called Team Oregon Build (TOB). The Oregon Department of Education’s Career Connected Learning framework pays for the project, which brings together state and local education leaders, industry partners, and communities to achieve two goals: giving students access to good jobs in construction and giving people in crisis the transitional housing they need right away.
While the Governor moved through the workshop, she heard students talk about why these classes are important to them. Some others commented about how exciting it was to pick up tools and learn how to measure, cut, and build. Others felt a newfound joy in knowing their efforts may aid Oregonians battling homelessness or recovering from natural catastrophes like wildfires. For a lot of people, the potential to serve their neighbors in genuine and meaningful ways is just as vital as the skills they learn.
“Thank you to the students, staff, and partners who are building transitional homes through Team Oregon Build to help Oregonians who need shelter from the streets or after a disaster,” Governor Kotek said. “I was so impressed by the students’ skills and sense of mission to help their neighbors. Truly awesome.”
TOB is more than just a school project; it’s a partnership that is starting to make a genuine difference across the state. During wildfire season in 2024, cottages built by students were used to house both those who had to leave their homes and firefighters who arrived to help. It’s a direct approach for kids to realize how what they learn in school may help them in the real world.
“Team Oregon Build has provided so many opportunities for my students,” John Stearns said. “Building a cottage forces students to plan ahead. Building for someone else forces students to think outward to those less fortunate. These young people will be workforce ready when they graduate and organizations on the ground now have real resources at their disposal to help Oregon’s most vulnerable people.”
A representative from Oregon Housing and Community Services was also in attendance. They talked about how the organization works with TOB to send cottages to the places where they are most needed, whether that is to help families who are about to become homeless or towns that have been hit by a disaster.
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The lessons for students go beyond learning how to operate a hammer or saw. They’re learning how to work together, solve problems, and understand how they can make the world a better place. And as Governor Kotek saw for herself, the next generation of builders in Oregon is already hard at work, not just building homes but also hope.
View pictures from the visit here.
