For students at La Mesa’s The Learning Choice Academy (TLC) located at 4215 Spring Street, the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program looks a bit different than the typical classroom setting of a whiteboard, desks, and quizzes.

The curriculum focuses on problem-solving skills and hands-on experience in sustainable construction. These lessons are applied directly as the students work together to build a tiny house by the end of the school year.

In 2020, even amid COVID-19, CTE students became OSHA 10 certified in construction safety procedures and designed and built their first tiny house (It would not be the last).

Earlier this month, TLC students achieved their goal for the second year in a row and presented the culmination of their work to their community with a “tiny housewarming” and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Recent graduate, Isabelle Hinojosa (pictured above with Travis Nixon), did the honors of cutting the ribbon.

Hinojosa joined CTE on a whim three years ago after transferring to TLC halfway through her sophomore year.

“My counselor told me, ‘You have two options for your elective. You can do art or a new class, EED (Energy and Environmental Design),’” said Hinojosa. “I can’t even draw a stick figure, so I picked EED. As I continued to be involved in this class, I realized there were actually some things I liked learning about. That motivated me to keep going and do the next class where we built the tiny house.”

The inspiration for this program came not only at a time when California was facing a housing crisis but also as workshop and technical skills classes have been historically phased out of public education. TLC pioneered this program by collaborating with a La Mesa local and fourth-generation electrical contractor, Travis Nixon.

“[TLC and I] were on the same page of wanting to bring this stuff to students,” said Nixon. “They had the vision and faith for me to build out a sustainable construction program for them.”

For Nixon, this program is much more than an elective class but a program meant to de-stigmatize career routes that are alternatives to college while also helping students grow in teamwork and self-confidence. His own experiences in school and starting to work with his father in the field speak to these goals.

“[Working with my dad] pulled me out of a negative path,” said Nixon. “What I realized is that I am not an academic but I love to learn. In education now, it’s really become like, ‘Here’s a one size fits all [curriculum],’ when that’s just not how everyone learns. What I love about this program is that they allowed someone who is not in that learning mode and has never been but has a completely successful career to share with students that have a similar makeup. We’re not only serving people who are visual/auditory learners, but we’re serving visual, auditory, and hands-on learners.”

Although Hinojosa is not pursuing a construction-related career, she said that this program taught her much about herself.

“I’m not so afraid to try new things,” said Hinojosa. “We usually want to stay in our comfort zones and not expand out of that, but this class for three years has proved me wrong. You can learn new things and you can like new things. Even if it’s not something you want to pursue for the rest of your life, they’re definitely skills you keep.”

For Nixon, seeing students like Hinojosa embrace their capabilities and remain open-minded both inside and outside the classroom is what makes this program fully worth it.

“Something that like made my life was when [Hinojosa] talked about how as a woman, specifically, she became comfortable with taking ownership of the building process and power tools. I was like, ‘Wow, mission accomplished.’”

The 2022 tiny house received offers and will be sold soon. With a completely sustainable design, it features a compost toilet and solar-powered energy. Another way TLC is implementing sustainability is by expanding its CTE program.

They plan to launch another tiny house CTE program at the Chula Vista location in the future.

To learn more about TLC visit: learningchoice.org/#

– Elaine Alfaro is a journalism student at Point Loma Nazarene University and a former intern for the La Mesa Courier.