LEXINGTON - The ABLE student construction program started during the 2007-2008 school year was created as the result of a partnership between The City of Lexington, Jerry Dannehl Construction, Lexington Public Schools and the ABLE program.

The program was devised to expose high school students to the various elements of home construction as well as the various careers they could pursue in the construction industry after graduation. In its first year, the program was a success.

The house the students completed now sits off South Adams street in the new CED addition and a new group of construction students have joined the program and recently started a second house on the same street, slated for completion at the end of the 2008-2009 school year.

Jerry Dannehl acts as the foreman on the jobsite and the students are the construction workers. Dannehl helps the kids lay out measurements and checks their progress as they mark off cutting lines, explaining to them the reasoning behind certain techniques.

"It's set up as a job," Dannehl said last week, as students worked on the sub-floor of the house being built for this school year. "How you would be treated on a jobsite is how you are treated here."

The conditioning and training the seven students receive from Dannehl is crucial for success on the jobsite, both as a classroom lab and later on in a job in construction. They need to be on time, learn math skills and keep their driver's license clean and current.

"You need math; ability to figure fractions and read a tape," explains Dannehl. "It's simple math. Paulsen Inc. has an open job offer to students that come through this class with a good driver's license. You're useless to a construction company without a license."

John Bell, the project advisor at Dawson Area Development, the entity behind the ABLE program, agrees.

"Businesses need kids with skill and work ethic. In fact, they are willing to invest three days of their time into the program to develop relationships with these students."

The relationships involve more than just driving nails and hanging sheetrock, however. The students learn how to pull electrical wire, set up plumbing and install duct work as well as a myriad of other tasks that must be done before the sheetrock goes in.

Three hours a day, four days a week, the student construction crew is on site learning to build in a lab situation. The other three hours a day and all day on Monday is spent in the school, working on their electives and other requirements.

Through coordination with Central Community College, the construction students spend a half of a school day each week studying various construction techniques and skills which supplements the lab experience provided by Dannehl on the job site. The class, since it takes up much of the school time for the students enrolled, is worth a substantial amount of high school graduation requirements.

"It's a critical class to pass," said Dannehl.

In addition to the hands-on learning, students also receive their own tool belt, hardhat, work boots and various hand tools. Upon completion of the class, the students are allowed to keep those supplies as they go on to college or enter the workforce. The ABLE program recently received $1,000 from the Lexington Wal-Mart to cover some of these costs for each student.

"Not every one of these kids is going to turn into a contractor," said Bell, "but if one of them finds out he really likes doing cabinets, flooring, sheetrocking, or any of the various skills needed in the construction industry, then Lexington may have a future entrepreneur."

"They also find out the things they don't like to do, which is also a good learning experience." said Dannehl.

Lexington Schools superintendent Todd Chessmore agreed with Dannehl.

"It gives students the opportunity to explore career opportunities they might not otherwise be able to explore, said Chessmore. "Students last year were able to find these things they love and that they want to pursue."

Out of the thirteen students that worked on the 2007-2008 ABLE house, two went on to work for Paulsen, Inc., two went to University of Nebraska-Kearney to study construction management, two are attending Central Community college in Hastings for construction management and one is working for Central Nebraska Truss here in Lexington.

City Manager Joe Pepplitsch also voiced his support for the ABLE construction program.

"The community gets the value of new housing and the kids going through the program benefit from the experience. I don't know if you can put a dollar value on that," Pepplitsch said. "We really need that in this area, people getting into the trades."

"It's a true business and education partnership," Bell concluded.

Bell and Dannehl both acknowledge those partners without whom the student program would not be possible; Bader Insulation, the City of Lexington, Davis Energy, Designer Craft Woodworking, Fagot Refrigeration and Electric, Fastenal, Walmart, Lexington Schools, Gothenburg Schools, SEM Schools, J.A. Dannehl Construction, Johnny on the Spot, Jones Plumbing and Heating, Lexington Clipper-Herald, KRVN, M & D Masonry, Mead Lumber, Paulsen, Inc., Platte Valley Seamless Gutter, S and W Auto Parts, Sign Pro, Staton Insurance, BHA Real Estate, T.L. Sund and Todd Rimpley.

For more information on the student construction program, contact Bell at the Dawson Area Development office at 308-784-3902.