By Holly Nine
Clay County High School proves to be a great place for learning, time and time again.
When you have students that enjoy learning, and teachers/administrators who enjoy teaching, the learning aspect for the students is not hard to come by. CCHS has been doing many things with education to provide learning experiences in “real life” scenarios. Seventy-five parcent of the student body of CCHS, covering many different programs, have been working on a project called Tiny Houses, Big Hearts.
The Tiny Houses, Big Hearts project is to provide housing options for mobile families, families with small parcels of land, and those displaced from the flooding that took place in Clay County in June.
Last Wednesday, I visited CCHS to be able to view the prototype of the Tiny House that will be built very soon at CCHS. Stan Hopkins, with High Schools That Work, and Lisa Simms with the West Virginia Department of Education, were in attendance as well to view the tiny house and many of the other projects that the students have been working on.
The prototype of the tiny house has been constructed and designed by the students. It is designed to be equipped with a main living area that includes a full service mini kitchen, a sleeping area, a restroom and a space for a stackable washer/dryer set. There will be electric power hookup, as well as some solar power options. The toilet/drain system will have hookups as well. There will be many creative storage solutions, utilizing ways to use each ounce of space available.
The tiny house will be mobile so that it can be moved from place to place. The State of West Virginia has given CCHS, along with 18 other schools in WV that are participating in this project, $20,000. Lowes has partnered with Skills USA to provide grants that CCHS has applied for adding another $25,000 to put towards the completion of the along with 18 other schools in WV that are participating in this project. The trailer will be here within 1-2 weeks for construction to begin. The actual size will end up being around 8 ½ feet wide and 26 feet long.
The prototype that was on display last Wednesday had many specifics shown. There was a couch, a microwave, refrigerator, etc., and was printed out as a project by students on the 3D printer at the school. When the trailer has been delivered and construction on the along with 18 other schools in WV that are participating in this project has begun, we will continue to follow up during construction as well as the completion of the along with 18 other schools in WV that are participating in this project, so look for more information in the weeks to come.
