Holley math teacher Russ Albright and technology teacher Dylan Sharpe co-teach Geometry in Construction, with students rotating between math days and building days each week. There are 13 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. Students combined their math and construction skills to build a 16’ x 20’ poultry barn for Homesteads for Hope (H4H) this year, and on June 4 and 7 they transported their “work in progress” and completed the installation.
In the fall, students went on a fieldtrip to the H4H farm so they could better understand how this organization operates and where the barn will be placed on the property. By housing animals like chickens 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 Phase I plan for H4H. Located along the Erie Canal on Manitou Road, H4H is a non-profit community farm that is all-inclusive and provides a place where young adults of all abilities can learn, work, live, and grow.
The barn features a double-shed roof, with three large windows towards the top of the upper roof, providing plenty of natural light. Half of the barn will be used for animals and the other half for storage. The barn has a more modern look to it, as compared to the traditional barns that are currently located on the H4H property. A metal skin siding will be added to the barn now that it is in place. Students planned for the project by working on a scale model. The barn was staged on a specially built platform at school before it was dismantled and transported to H4H to be installed permanently.
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 Albright. “Many students who don’t traditionally perform well in math class are performing much better in this class.” The scores from previous years’ Regents Exams continue to show that Geometry in Construction students score better than traditional geometry class students. Regardless of how students perform on any Geometry test, they leave class feeling proud of completing a community service project that helps others.
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Photos by Karen Fien
