Construction Careers Center, St. Louis, Missouri

AGC of St. Louis worked with local business groups, foundations, other associations and unions to get funding for the Construction Careers Charter High School, the first publicly funded high school for construction in the nation, which opened in 2001.

The Construction Careers Center's mission is to prepare students in grades nine through twelve for the future by providing an excellent foundation in academics, broad exposure to the construction industry, and relevant vocational education preparation. The school's curriculum is specifically designed by the construction industry to prepare students for entry into direct employment, a construction apprenticeship-training program, a community college or a four-year degree institution. The school implements strategies to encourage each student to develop the necessary skills, attitudes and work ethic to be successful in the construction industry.

AGC of St. Louis President Leonard P. Toenjes, who has been involved with the program since the very beginning, was instrumental in generating support from private institutions, such as Energizer and Enterprise Leasing, in addition to the local Home Builders Association, and various craftworker unions.

AGC of St. Louis appointed a seven-member board of education that includes four AGC contractors, a building trades representative, an educator and a parent. AGC members helped - time, money and equipment - renovate a vacant former school.

Academy for Career Education, Sparks, Nevada

The Nevada Chapter AGC through its members was instrumental in helping start the Academy for Career Education (ACE), a Construction Trades Charter High School.

ACE is a tuition-free, construction trades/engineering, charter high school for 9th-through 12th-grade students. ACE offers students an opportunity to engage in an integrated academic curriculum and take specific construction/engineering courses.

Students in the Building Trades Program build a house from start to finish while learning all aspects of industry and apply English, math, science and social studies. Proceeds from the sale of the house will go directly to the following year's program.

ACE focuses on academics (reading, writing, math and science) through the application of construction skills. Our goal: high school graduation, with the ability to pursue post-secondary training in any construction field from management, engineering, architecture, to the trades, such as plumbing, electrician, carpentry, etc., as well as immediate employment.