The Tiny House is successful attempt of MHS at working towards and teaching students about a cleaner environment. The project is also a good representation of the capabilities of the wood shop at MHS. The idea of the whole endeavor originally came from Automotive teacher Chris Bazzinotti, and Transitions Coordinator Kelli Collomb.
The inspiration of the idea for The Tiny House came from the wood shop. It was made to gain publicity for the wood shop and for the idea of having construction classes at MHS. Bazzinotti and Collomb got the money for this idea by bringing it forward to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). The MassCEC only gives a grant to ideas that follow their requirements. The requirements of the MassCEC grant are that the project that the money is being used for has to be using clean energy. It also has to provide an opportunity of students in grades 9-12 to learn about and work with clean energy. This is meant to prepare them for a future in clean energy jobs.
Collomb and Bazzinotti brought the idea of The Tiny House to the MassCEC and won the grant of 125,000 dollars to make it possible.
Bazzinotti, along with Physics teacher Brian Morrison, were responsible for the construction and planning of the House. Creative Engineering and Design teacher Ashley Freeman was responsible for the technology research for the house. However, the house was physically constructed from all three teachers as well as many students who helped out over the summer. Solar City was also integral to the project, as a partner and provider of solar panels for the house.
The Tiny House project started in September 2016 and is likely to be completely finished within the next year. Although the project is a success in teaching students about clean energy, there is still work that needs to be done to such as the insulation and hooking up the solar panels to give it power.
As of now, however, there has been a lot of positive feedback from the community about the whole idea from key figures inthe community such as Mayor Gary Christenson as well as the residents of Malden. The students who worked on the class have been said to have had a sense of pride in working on the project as well.
The hopes of all this success of The Tiny House and teaching students about solar power all points back to gaining publicity for the Construction classes at MHS. The Tiny House is expected to give a good example of what these classes can offer the students, such as improving teamwork and creativity, and pursuing many other projects they can accomplish together.
UPDATE:
The Tiny House is still in construction and is still in need of help from students. Students at Malden High School can still sign up to be a part of this project and also get paid to do it. There will be an informational meeting for students who want to join and apply for the job on October 4th in the Malden High School Library. The opportunity to be a part of a potential piece of Malden history and learn about clean energy is still open.
