MML Review Magazine Fall 2026

Students gather outside their newly completed student-built home in Escanaba. Photo by Sophie Vogelmann, The Daily Press.

“ We try to get these kids early and [show] that there ’ s a number of different paths for success after high school. ”

with employers through the Michigan College Access Network. “We tell [students], ‘This is your chance to make mistakes,”’ says Bellinger. Even while still enrolled in their regular high school classes like English and chemistry, CTE students can get out into their communities for (sometimes paid) work placement. For a CNA student, this might mean shadowing or assisting at a hospital or rehab center. Automotive students might be changing oil or tires at a local body shop. And, of course, building trades students do their part to help the local housing market. Jacques himself is an alum of Gladstone High’s CTE program. “I graduated high school and immediately got a job offer building houses,” he says. He continued working for his employer, Aaberg Contracting, throughout his college summer breaks. Building trades students constructed roughly one house per year for decades before the housing downturn halted new home construction in 2008. That program just started back up again last year. “[During the downturn,] we couldn’t continue to leverage the cost of building a home with, maybe, not selling it,” says Bellinger. “But now there’s such a want for new construction.” CTE students completed their first new home

in Escanaba at the end of May, and the district just signed a full price offer that will close in October. “It’s a good time to be building houses again,” adds Bellinger. When he was still a student, Jacques himself helped build a local two-story, three-bedroom, two-bathroom home. With teacher supervision, “We laid the cement, put the roof on, put the windows in.” The home is still there and still occupied. In addition to simply helping young people in Gladstone and Schoolcraft Counties find jobs, the districts have found that CTE programs can address student burnout and attendance issues. “We want to make sure they find something that connects them to our school, where they feel some pride; that gives them a sense of purpose and belonging; and is future-oriented,” says Jacques. “They learn about careers they maybe weren’t aware of; it sparks their interest, and now they want to come to school.”

Emily Pinsuwan is a content writer for the League. You may contact Emily at 734-669-6320 or epinsuwan@mml.org.

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