The High School House Project

When this type of project began back in the '70s, the kids built a house that sold for approximately $33,000. Now they build houses worth $220,000!

Video by Gary Olsen

ust I take off my shoes to tour this new house? Not if you click one of the buttons below and take a virtual tour of sorts through the house that high schoolers built. As part of our integrated vocational curriculum, building an actual house has been on the agenda for several years with the exception of a few years where interest rates were through the roof. Now, housing prices may seem through the roof, but it's all relative to the current state of the economy, land values, and the cost of similar new house construction. This home is located in the growing Embassy West subdivision on Dubuque's western edge off of Radford Road.The address is essentially the end of Samantha Drive. You can't miss the signs containing names and logos of those companies who helped support the project. The house is located on a court where there will be very little traffic other than that generated by those who actually live on the street.

The house is really spectacular, particulary since it was decorated by high school students studying under the guidence of Jan Mozena (Senior). The trades students were under the direction of another Senior instructor, Larry Cording.

So click on this nearly 8-minute video clip and enjoy the show. And don't forget your shoes when you leave. If you have difficulties downloading and viewing the clip, read the instructions below, or better yet (this is for DCSD teachers and staff) call your building's media specialist and ask for help installing the appropriate software on your machine. Links are listed below.

Instructions For Those Outside of Our School Network (The General Public)

We are now providing a choice of RealPlayer applications for you to download and install on your computer to enable you to view the video and audio files. One is RealPlayer8 and the other is RealOne Player, which is an excellent player with many new features. It's easy to install, so just follow the on-screen steps. You will be required to register with Real.com, but these are free software applications (there are versions you can pay for if you choose, but they are not necessary for basic viewing and listening).

Which Player is Best for Me?

Of the two types of free players available, RealPlayer 8 is the traditional player that is free and will work beautifully to access Web based multimedia files from our site. There is also a new player available, which is also free, called RealONE. Either player will probably work for your operating system. If your system is older (Windows 95, NT), however, you may want to use the RealPlayer 8 software. If you are running a newer, faster system like Windows 98, ME, XP, or 2000, go for the RealOne player.

Macintosh Owners:

You can get a RealPlayer for Macintosh, Visit Real.com to download their free player options. Remember, look for the FREE players. They are sometimes difficult to find on their Web site.

Oh, and one more thing... sometimes when you click on a sound or video file in our Web site with the RealPlayer installed, you get a little commercial window that pops up on your desktop. It's annoying, but a small price to pay for the privilege of having the free RealPlayer on your system. Just click it off, and it will disappear.

Instructions For Machines on our School Network (Teachers and Staff)
We are recommending (and IT is supporting) RealPlayer8. This is for ALL computers on our network (in all school and administration buildings throughout the District). This includes all Windows 2000 machines. Click here to get the free player from our network server. If you do not have administrative priveleges, please call your building media specialist to help you.

 


© 2000-2003 Dubuque Community Schools All Rights Reserved. No portion of this Web site can be reproduced without expressed permission of the Dubuque Community School District. Contact Dubuque Community Schools, Office of Public Affairs, 2300 Chaney Road, Dubuque, IA 52001. View our Privacy Statement.

If you are an employee of the Dubuque Community School Distrct, The Hub is for you. You need your building name
and password to gain access. Ask your school secretary or media specialist for that information.