Aaron Frumin knows what it’s like to be disengaged at school. He dropped out of college in his third year because he wanted a more purposeful life. And that’s exactly what he’s created—for himself and for hundreds of students—with unCommon Construction, an innovative program where high school students build houses from the ground up.

Aaron’s path had many twists and turns. After Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, he took advantage of his flexibility and moved to New Orleans to volunteer with the Red Cross. Before long, he was helping with construction—and found he liked it. After his service with the Red Cross, he spent time as a construction day laborer and did stints with AmeriCorps and Habitat for Humanity. He used his AmeriCorps scholarship to finish his degree and became a middle school teacher through Teach for America.

When Aaron was teaching reading and math in Colorado, he considered what he wanted to do with his life. He realized he could combine his teaching and building skills to reach high schoolers in a unique way: teach them to build houses and fund scholarships for them with the proceeds from selling the houses. He thought New Orleans would be the best place to start, so he moved back in 2014 to start putting it in motion.

unCommon Construction partners with several New Orleans schools and a homeschool collective, and only students enrolled with a partner are eligible to apply for the apprenticeship. “For each job site, we typically accept 1–5 kids from each school,” says Aaron. “They join a crew with kids from the other schools, so they’re with people from all across the spectrum. There are typically 20–25 students per cohort.”

Aaron recalls that as a teacher he felt frustrated by the constraints of his classroom. With unCommon, he’s able to prepare kids for the real world by giving them an education that happens in it. “Day one, coming to unCommon Construction, I had never used a hammer before,” says Terrance, an unCommon apprentice. “We come in not knowing anything. We leave knowing so much more than we knew. And now I’m a crew leader. I’m able to teach and lead others to use these different tools. unCommon is like that little step into a big world.”

unCommon has developed a three-tier model. In tier one, students build a house from start to finish in a school year, working around 100 hours per semester. In the beginning, they built a house in a semester, but Aaron found the students could learn more by slowing the process down. In tier two, smaller cohorts can be hired to work on build projects like siding, painting, and home repairs throughout New Orleans. Tier three, which is being rolled out next school year, will engage students in more creative design-build projects. Soft skills, such as time management, communication, and problem solving, are emphasized in all aspects of the program.

In addition to being paid above minimum wage for their work, apprentices earn high school credits and scholarships that can be used for a variety of post-high school expenses, including trade school, college, a computer, or even a car to help them get to work or school. The scholarships are in keeping with Aaron’s goal of preparing students for success in the workforce or in college. The wages and scholarships are primarily funded by the sale of the houses built by each cohort.

unCommon Construction also works with industry partners. Aaron likes to flip the typical model a bit by hosting a build day in which the partners come to the job site and the students are the leaders for the day. Wolverine, an American company that has made work boots for more than 100 years, is one of unCommon’s partners. The relationship started with Wolverine supplying steel-toed boots to the students—and it progressed to the point that uCC students had the opportunity to design a limited-edition work boot. The boots, along with a t‑shirt and socks, are available on Wolverine’s website, and unCommon Construction receives a portion of each purchase.

Aaron has a waiting list of schools in New Orleans that want to participate in the apprenticeship program, but he is careful to only accept partners that are aligned with the mission. He’s also had interest from other communities. Last spring, unCommon began piloting an expansion in Minneapolis. This spring, he expects to have two cohorts in New Orleans and one in Minneapolis.

unCommon Construction was recently a Yass Prize finalist, which included a $500,000 award and access to a network of education innovators around the country. Aaron says, “The award will help us expand to other mid-size cities where conditions are favorable for the program. As unCommon Construction grows, it will help elevate a more sophisticated conversation around career and technical education across the country. I’m very grateful for the Yass Prize and the supportive network they’re creating.”