Pasco students building 27th Team Pasco House to gain hands-on trades experience
By Jake Gabel
Click here for updates on this story
Nov 10, 2026 (KAPP) — PASCO, Washington — Students from all four Pasco School District high schools are building a home that will soon belong to a local family. The 27th “Team Pasco House” is a career and technical education project that gives students real-world experience in the skilled trades. The house is set to be finished May 27, 2027, on Dean Drive in Pasco, where several other homes are under construction.
Students in the program are gaining practical skills that classroom lessons alone cannot provide. Mathew Avitia, a Chiawana High School senior, said he has learned a great deal since joining the project.
“I’ve really learned a lot, how to use different tools and then how to do framing. Just stuff I haven’t done before, so it’s really fun,” Avitia said.
Alex Birrueta, also a Chiawana High School senior, said the program offers a different kind of learning than the traditional classroom.
“I feel like it’s more hands-on instead of reading textbooks, taking quizzes in the classroom. I like being out here being hands-on, putting your knowledge into something that you can do,” Birrueta said.
About 40 students from the four district high schools are working on the house. Some are taking part in the program for the first time, while others are returning members. The project has helped many of them find their professional paths.
Community business partners sponsor the project and help complete and sell the home. Eminent Roofing donates a roof for the program every year. Ignacio Cardenas, chief operations officer at Eminent Roofing, is a former program student who helped build a home in 2005. He now serves on the program’s board. The proceeds from the sale benefit students beyond the build itself, going into an account.
“We use [it] to also buy next year’s lot to continue the program,” Cardenas said. “But more importantly there’s also scholarships that go out to these students that want to pursue a career in either construction trades or just anything that’s related to the general labor out there.”
Birrueta has helped build three houses during his three years in the program. He will attend Central Washington University to earn a construction management degree. He described the feeling of finishing a project like this.
“You get really proud, I mean you’ve done it, you get proud of yourself. You just get excited about seeing what you’ve done throughout the year,” Birrueta said.
Students also learn to manage a business alongside the hands-on work and instruction from professionals. Unlike a typical class project, this house will remain in the community long after the students graduate.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.