Students in Holley Central School District’s Geometry in Construction class recently combined their math and construction skills to build a 16-foot by 20-foot barn for Homesteads for Hope (H4H). The non-profit community farm, located on Manitou Road in Ogden, is all-inclusive and provides a place where young adults of all abilities can learn, work, live and grow.
Holley math teacher Russ Albright and technology teacher Tim Rogers co-teach Geometry in Construction, with students rotating between math days and building days each week. There are 12 students in this year’s class, with the majority in tenth grade. The class helps students learn how math concepts can be applied to real-world problems to create solutions.
In the fall, students went on a field trip to the H4H farm so they could better understand how this organization operates and where the barn would be placed on the property. By housing animals like chickens and rabbits in the barn, it will provide new opportunities for young adults to care for the animals on the farm. The barn installation is part of the first phase of the three-phase plan for H4H.
The barn features a gambrel roof, sliding barn doors, windows and a loft on the second floor. Students constructed stairs to the loft, designed to maximize floor space. A metal skin siding will be added to the barn once construction is completed. Students planned for the project by working on a scale model of the barn. The barn was staged on a specially built platform at school before it was dismantled and transported to H4H on May 2 to be installed permanently. Rainy weather delayed work on the project until May 8. Another work session will be required in the near future to complete the barn.
The skills students learn in this class will be carried with them beyond high school to be used in future jobs or to make home repairs. “Students enjoy this class because they can see the real-world application of math,” said Rogers. “Many students who don’t traditionally perform well in math class are performing much better in this class.” The scores from last year’s Regents Exam continue to show that Geometry in Construction students score better than traditional geometry class students. Regardless of how they do on the Geometry Regents exam in June, they leave class feeling proud of completing a community service project that helps others.
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Photos by Karen Fien
