Case Study: Hutchinson Minnesota High School – Building Pathways for the Future
Building Skills, Building Homes, Building Community
Hutchinson High School has been constructing tiny houses since 2016, offering students hands-on training in construction while addressing housing needs.
Key Partnerships:
Hutchinson Economic Development Administration: Supported initial funding of $1.5 million for tools and supplies.
3M: Provided resources to support the workforce development pipeline.
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Youth Skills Training Grant: Funded coordinator salaries to sustain the program.
Glencoe-Silver Lake Public Schools: Partnered to secure additional grant funding.
Process and Outcomes:
Built multiple tiny houses with costs ranging from $27,000–$35,000 for materials.
Promoted career pathways using Minnesota Department of Education Career Clusters.
Emphasized hands-on learning, team-building, and problem-solving skills.
Students reported growth in confidence, teamwork, and exploration of career paths like engineering and robotics.
Lessons Learned:
Community Engagement: Hire coordinators from local communities to build trust and partnerships.
Proactive Planning: Research thoroughly to anticipate challenges such as permits, materials, and building codes.
Passion-Driven Teaching: Teachers need passion for both construction and mentoring students to create sustainable programs.
Daryl Lundin: “Part of my background is growing up in a family of carpenters. My dad and brother had a construction company for 30 years. I worked with them on construction projects during the summer 2001-2008. I decided that did not want to work outside in the cold during the winter. So, I earned a teaching degree. I brought up the idea of building tiny houses to our Superintendent. He liked the idea. The city of Hutchinson Economic Development Administration really like the idea too. Superintendent said 0k. They raised $1.5 million to buy initial tools and supplies. We began in 2016.”
Andrea Moore: Moore is in her sixth year of serving as Tiger Path Coordinator for the district. The district uses the Minnesota Department of Education career cluster. Hutchinson focuses on 4 pathways, A key part of Moore’s job is identifying and developing partnerships between the school and local businesses and community agencies. Four of the years that Andrea has been in this position, a large part of her salary was paid for by a Mn Department of Labor and Industry Youth Skills Training Grant. One year the district paid her entire salary with no funding from specific grants. Then Glencoe-Silver Lake Public Schools applied for the ANI grant, and named Hutchinson as a partner. This currently is paying her salary.
Students and house currently under construction
This display faces the Hutchinson High School cafeteria. The school has made promoting a variety of career clusters a high priority.
Can you please give examples of partnerships that have helped make the homes Hutchinson students construct better? See picture on wall – 3 M is big contribution. This is a manufacturing town – big need right now is for employees. Pretty easy to convince them. They saw a lot of kids leaving town. The home-building and other career pathways help keep students in town. What advice would you give to other people considering creating a program to teach construction skills as they build for low-income families? Lundin reports: “I like to do things differently. Expect that some things won’t go as expected such as supply chain issues. Don’t give up. Having Andrea with Tiger Paths is a great help. Money from state YST grant helps. She has helped make community connections. As a teacher I would never have time to make connections.
Interior and Exterior of House recently completed and offered for sale as of October, 2023
Suggestions from Andrea: Hire a member of the community. She has lived I the area for 55 years; She graduated from here, my kids graduated from here. Have been a teacher or have a teaching license – more from buy in from teachers, come to sub or teach soft skills. Include teachers from the beginning – show how it’s going to benefit. It can’t be always about the bottom dollar. Someone will buy the home eventually. We have heard that some districts focus explicitly on bottom line, financially. This is not our approach.
Recognizing it varies from home to home, what are the approximate budgets for the homebuilding projects? The district gave me an open checkbook. Worst case costs are about $50,000. Generally, we have been able to construct a tiny house for $27-35,000. This is for the materials. The district covers the teacher cost. We sell the houses to people in the area.