RACINE, Wis. — When Michael McAllister and his classmates started what his teachers at Case High School initially called a “bigger project,” they weren’t told what it was going to be.  

“When we first started this project, we thought we were wasting lumber,” said McAllister. 

About a week in, they got the news that they were building walls for a real home. McAllister, a junior, said there was one thing that went through his mind right then and there. 

“Let’s get this done the right way,” he said. 

The students were given blueprints, and then started to build.

“We had to figure out where everything was going to be at, which was kind of hard for kids who haven’t done this before,” McAllister said. “That was also a learning experience for them because they were getting taught by people that knew how to do this stuff, people who’ve done this their whole lives, and figuring everything out along the way.”

While building homes is nothing new for Habitat for Humanity, Grant Buenger, the Executive Director for Habitat Racine, said this was a new idea to have three Racine high schools — Park, Case and Horlick — involved. 

“We’ve been talking to the academies for a while about what it would look like to collaborate on a project, to give construction pathway students a real world example and opportunity that applies to their curriculum, but also helps serve our community and increase our capacity at Racine habitat to serve more families,” Buenger said. 

There are more logistics in this type of build. Having the walls built off site requires them to be moved. 

Buenger said it actually saves about three to four weeks in the overall construction. 

He’s amazed at students’ work. 

“I think they’re ahead of the curve. To be 17, 18-years-old, to understand how to read a blueprint, what it is, to assemble the interior walls of a residential construction project to spec [sic], at their age is incredible experience and skill set that hopefully benefits them as they move forward and graduate,” Buenger said. 

The home will be finished by the end of the year, and though those who live there won’t see — all the students wrote their name inside, on top of what will be a door frame. 

“If this house breaks down, all of our names are on it, but if it lasts 1,000 years, all of our names are on it,” McAllister said. “We’re leaving something behind that we learned in school, we learned when we didn’t think we could do stuff like this and it’s just really crazy to realize that we’re doing stuff that’s going to be a real life house and not just a project in school or something we’re being graded for.”

Habitat for Humanity said the homes will be ready to be sold to a family in spring 2023.