High school students in Great Falls aren’t just learning about construction in a classroom — they’re building a real home for a family in need, gaining hands-on trade experience through the long-running High School House partnership between NeighborWorks Great Falls and Great Falls Public Schools. Now in its 48th build, the program continues to be one of the most successful career-based learning models in Montana.
.jpg)
Sherrie Arey, executive director of NeighborWorks Great Falls, said the students’ work is right on schedule. “We're kind of right in the middle of the year. They work from August to May and they finish up in May when we put the house on the market,” she said. Crews are currently racing to finish exterior components before the winter freeze pushes the project indoors.
Great Falls High School junior Dillon Derr explained that the team is close to completing the outside of the home. “We are getting everything on the outside of the house done. We are really close to getting the siding done and we still have the front of the house to do,” he said. With colder weather approaching, students are looking forward to interior progress. “But it is nice because then we get to start heading inside of the house. We get a little out of the weather that's coming and start doing some drywall.”
For many students, the program is more than an elective — it’s an entry point into career pathways they may not otherwise explore. Derr said the experience has broadened his understanding of opportunities in the trades. “It's awesome because I am 17 right now and I've got another year and this has kind of opened my eyes to all the different sorts of trades that are out there and available,” he said. “As far as right now, I want to become an electrician.”
Beyond technical skills, students take pride in the program’s mission. Their work directly supports local families who qualify for affordable housing. “We get to spend school time and come out here and put in 2 hours a day with a bunch of friends and it all goes towards someone in need,” Derr said. “And it's just cool working on it, knowing that.”
That sense of ownership stays with participants long after graduation. Arey said former students often point out the homes they helped build. “I've heard from past high school house builders that every time they drive by the house, they're like pointing it out to their family and friends. They're saying, I built that house,” she said. “So it really is in some ways a small group in our community that can really be proud of the homes that they've built that now will stand the test of time and be here for 75, 80, 100 years."
The program received high-profile recognition this week when Governor Greg Gianforte visited the construction site as part of his annual “12 Days of Giving.” He praised the initiative as a model for Montana’s construction pipeline. “High School House and NeighborWorks is a terrific program here in Cascade County that imparts trade skills to students at the same time, they're building affordable housing. So everybody wins,” Gianforte said.
During his visit, the governor donated $20,694.79 — a quarter of his salary — to NeighborWorks as part of his yearly charitable gifts. Students said his presence at the site helped reinforce the importance of the work they’re doing. “It's nice seeing someone like that come on to the site and talk to us about the things that he's doing for us and our futures in the trades,” Derr said.
Arey said the donation will directly strengthen the program and could help accelerate efforts to bring the High School House model to other school districts. Several communities have already expressed interest in replicating the approach, seeing it as a way to build workforce talent while expanding affordable housing options.
The current home is expected to be completed and placed on the market in May, continuing a nearly five-decade tradition of student-built housing that benefits Great Falls families and cultivates Montana’s next generation of skilled workers.
Originally reported by Joee Taylor, NonStop Local Senior Multimedia Journalist in Montana Right Now.
