The home will be the 30th built by high school students in Naperville School District since 1970. The students in the two-period class arrive at the construction site to find the home's foundation in place. They return every day thereafter, working 90 minutes a session. For the first week or two, the instructor does demonstrations on site. After that, the students do all of the work.
Students do all of the framing, install the roof, siding and tile.
They do all of the painting, install hardwood floors and hang the drywall. Licensed contractors do the plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning with two students assisting each contractor. A program created by Dr. Michael Carrera at the Children's Aid Society, offers not just traditional sex education, but also tutoring, SAT preparation, job skills, medical and dental care, sports and creative arts. The Carrera program is singled out in a comprehensive report by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy on the available research on teenage pregnancy programs because of its effectiveness. The Carrera program, and its evaluation, were supported by the Robin Hood Foundation, in New York, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, in Michigan.