(Atlantic, Iowa) – Member of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education this (Wednesday) evening, approved the purchase, from the City of Atlantic, residential property at 1014-1016 East 3rd Street Place, near the Mollett City Park.  The purchase price was One-dollar. The properties will be used toward the construction of a home by students in the Construction Trades Program. Construction is slated to begin in the 2023-24 school year.

During their meeting on May 11th, the Atlantic Community School Foundation approved $150,000 in funding for the Construction Trades Program. The group unanimously voted to fund a request from Atlantic High School Industrial Technology teacher Dexter Dodson, on behalf of the Construction Trades Program, for $150,000 to allow the construction trades students to build a home from start to finish in Atlantic.

According to the press release, six years ago, a steering committee was created to build a program where students could gain hands-on experience in the trade professions. From that committee work, the construction trades program was established, and since then, the students in this program have built a garage and helped erect the greenhouse at Atlantic High School. From the inception of these conversations, the committee’s goal has always been to have this class someday build a home in the community.

The Industrial Tech Program is spearheaded by Dexter Dodson, instructor for the Building Trades class, and Noah Widrowicz, Middle & High School Industrial Tech teacher, who plays a significant role by providing the prerequisite classes to the building trades class. Dodson said “This project will connect our construction trades program to all aspects of construction. It will provide them with real-world experiences and build necessary soft skills while creating a sense of pride for them in the community and continue to connect the school to many business partners to build relationships for potential future employment.”

With the help of Randy Watts, the drafting classes have produced a floor plan for this home construction project that would include a single-car garage.

Ted Robinson, President of the Atlantic Community School Foundation, said, “I am grateful the Atlantic Community School Foundation is to be able to provide financial support to the Construction Trades Program to build a home in our community. The students participating in this project will gain invaluable experience that they can carry with them for their entire life, and hopefully, working on this project will inspire them to go into the Trade profession. “The financial support for this project has been made possible by the generous donations of community members through annual donations, gifts of property, bequests, and memorials.”

Current Foundation members are President Ted Robinson; Vice President Stacey Bean; Treasurer Steve Tjepkes; Secretary David Wiederstein; and Board Members Kevin Garrett, John Becker, Brad Henningsen, Lucas Mosier, Sue Hunt, Jessie Shiels and non-voting member, Superintendent Steven Barber.

To learn more about the Atlantic Community School Foundation, visit https://www.atlanticiaschools.org/foundation. If you would like to donate to the Foundation, or need more information, contact AMU General Manager Steve Tjepkes, or Ted Robinson at First Whitney Bank and Trust.