2020 Kingwood Park High School graduate Brendan Flaherty cuts the ribbon on October 26, 2020, to the latest Tiny Home. The home was built by KPHS students as part of the “Students Helping Veterans: Big Heroes, Tiny Homes” project.
Students at Kingwood Park High School celebrated the completion of their second home as part of the program, “Students helping Veterans: Big Heroes, Tiny Homes” with a ribbon cutting event on Monday, Oct. 26.
The program, which has received national attention, is a student-led initiative that teaches students teamwork, architecture, and construction skills.
The homes, designed and built by students, are donated to homeless veterans needing a place to live.
“The work we’re doing is giving veterans new hope as we build a new place for them to call home,” Parker Ryan, a Kingwood Park High School Senior designing the school’s third home, said.
The latest home, built by Kingwood Park students, measures 209 square feet. It consists of one room with a bed, dining table and chairs, along with built-in cabinets. The home has electricity, a television and a wall air conditioner unit.
The latest Tiny Home built by Kingwood Park students is 209 square feet and includes a dining table and chairs, television, bed, dresser, built-in cabinets, and air conditioning.
Construction began in August 2019 and was expected to be completed by May 2020, but delays due to COVID-19 caused the home’s completion date to be pushed back to October 2020.
On October 29, the home was moved to the Langetree Retreat and Ecocenter in Liberty County, where two other homes previously built by Humble ISD students now stand. Residents at the site share restroom facilities located in a separate structure.
Kingwood Park 2020 graduate Brendan Flaherty was the lead architect and designer for the latest home. He said it convinced him to change what he first wanted to study in college.
“I wanted to study architecture, but working on this house made me want to explore construction science and management,” Flaherty said.
Kingwood Park architecture, engineering, and construction management teacher Missi Taylor oversees the students working on the homes. She said she has taught most of them since they were freshmen.
“To see the students go from sketching to really understanding the drawings and components to building a home is a rewarding experience,” Ms. Taylor said. Their growth has been incredible.”
Humble ISD is proud of the latest home built as part of the “Big Heroes, Tiny Homes: Students Helping Veterans” project. Pictured (from left): KPHS senior Parker Ryan, KPHS teacher Missi Taylor, School Board Parliamentarian Lori Twomey, School Board President Robert Sitton, Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Fagen, 2020 KPHS graduate Brendan Flaherty, KPHS teacher Natalie Johnson.
Ms. Taylor and her students are now focusing efforts on the next Tiny Home at Kingwood Park.
Donations have been a big factor in making the project a success. Ms. Taylor said more donations are needed to complete her group’s next home project.
Construction on the next home is underway and is expected to be completed by May 2021.
Kingwood Park students working on the tiny home project will soon have a campus workshop that will protect them and their equipment from the elements. The workshop, part of a Career and Technology Education wing addition to the campus, is being funded by Bond 2018. It is expected to be completed by November 2021.
Kingwood Park students work to frame a tiny home that will be donated to a veteran as part of the program, “Big Heroes, Tiny Homes: Students Helping Veterans.” The home, completed in October 2020, now stands at the Langetree Retreat and Ecocenter in Liberty County.