MIDDLETON, Idaho —The Middleton School District celebrated the grand opening of its Middleton Career Campus: Construction, a state-of-the-art facility designed to enhance career-technical education (CTE) programs for high school students. A ribbon-cutting and open house on Monday drew around 100 attendees, including Mayor Jackie Hutchison and Rep. Mike Moyle, along with school administrators, students, and community members.
The event featured food trucks, refreshments, and guided tours of the new facility, which began construction in February 2025. The building, costing roughly $2 million, was funded through an Idaho Career Ready Students Grant and Idaho House Bill 521, legislation that supports modernization of public school facilities. Steel for the structure was generously donated by Rob and Nancy Roberts of R&M Steel, a Caldwell-based manufacturer.
Middleton Superintendent Marc Gee explained that the facility allows students to rotate between hands-on labs for construction skills and classrooms where they study math and English as applied to their trade.
“It’s not about me,” Gee said during the ribbon-cutting. “And it’s not about us. It’ll outlive a lot of us… as long as there’s no crazy disaster that comes through … it’ll still be here.”
Students started classes in the facility the following day, ready to gain practical construction experience alongside academic instruction.
Middleton construction teacher Mark Enger, who has taught for 41 years, emphasized the local industry demand for skilled workers.
“You have companies coming in, putting up 400 or 500 homes a year,” Enger said. “They’re always looking for workers.”
Enger’s curriculum combines hands-on training with creative methods to teach complex concepts. One such technique, called Tic-Tac-Toe, helps students understand the Pythagorean Theorem:
“Tic, it’s always a fraction of an inch– it’s just a tick. Tac: big, bold numbers– it always deals with feet. Toe: did you know the ancient Egyptians used thumbs to measure one inch? And did you know your thumb is as long as your toe? Toe always deals with inches,” Enger explained.
Middleton students have excelled nationally, placing 15th in a SkillsUSA construction competition, demonstrating the effectiveness of Enger’s customized instruction.
At the ribbon-cutting, student Gabriella Hollinger shared how the CTE program impacted her life.
“I had given up hope for all future goals, and was beginning to lose sight of the person I wanted to become,” Hollinger said. “At the Middleton Academy, my teachers and peers set me in a better direction. Then Enger introduced me to SkillsUSA. I was able to step out of my comfort zone, and it has done nothing but change me for the better.”
Hollinger’s team became the first alternative school in Idaho to compete at SkillsUSA Nationals, highlighting the program’s transformative potential.
“The impact this building, and the programs alongside it, will have is immense,” she added. “And believe me when I say Middleton CTE programs have changed my life for the better.”
The Middleton Career Campus: Construction represents a model for integrating academic learning with trade skills, equipping students for both college readiness and workforce success. The facility’s blend of classrooms and labs ensures that students not only acquire practical construction experience but also strengthen critical thinking, problem-solving, and applied mathematics skills.
District officials anticipate that the new facility will serve generations of students, meeting growing demands for skilled labor in the construction industry while fostering student engagement, career readiness, and personal growth.
Originally reported by Kaeden Lincoln in Idahoed News.
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