Community School students build home for refugees
By Faye Prekeges
At Sun Valley Community School, the Refugee House class is into its second term. Conceived by Scott Runkel, an Upper School science teacher, and Elliot Jacobs, an Upper School English teacher, the class goal is to educate its students and community on the environmental and cultural impacts of the current refugee crisis. There is one main project the class will tackle this year—building a tiny house for the Twin Falls Refugee Center.
In general, a tiny house is considered to be a residential structure under 500 square feet. Tiny houses became an architectural and social movement over the past few years, because they can be transported easily and are easier to build and sustain in an environmentally conscious way. For the Refugee House class, the goal is to build an environmentally friendly tiny house in Sun Valley that will be transported to the Twin Falls Refugee Center, and act as a semi-permanent home for different refugee families as they acclimate to their new home.
The class was started during Community School’s last spring trimester, as a new approach to project-based learning. Students break into smaller groups based on their interests: one group is dedicated to communication, one to fundraising, another to ensuring the project stays within its sustainability goals.
It’s one of Community School’s most project-based courses, since the students are in charge of planning and executing the project themselves.
Last year, a fundraiser for the class held at the Limelight Hotel showcased the students’ hard work and dedication to their sustainable tiny house. Representatives of the Twin Falls refugee community were in attendance, and the fundraiser worked to educate the community on the global refugee crisis. During that fundraiser, the class raised money to allow them to purchase some building equipment.
Based on the work from the previous class, Refugee House students will continue the process of creating a home. The class created blueprints for the house with the help of a local architect and are working with different engineers and construction workers to learn how to build the structure themselves.
On Tuesday, the class traveled to the Twin Falls Refugee Center a second time to meet with people directly impacted by the crisis and speak further with the center’s organizers about the project. The students are planning another fundraiser, and the date will be released by the school when decided. The goal of the next fundraiser is to continue to raise money to support the sustainable construction of the house.
For updates on the class’s progress and information about the upcoming fundraiser, visit @csrefugeehouse on Instagram.