Although the school year is young, Christy Hanson already sees her Danielsville Elementary School construction students gaining confidence in their hands-on abilities.

“I can see a difference already in just a couple of weeks that I’ve been with them,” she said.

Hanson said she’s particularly thrilled to see girls learning how to use a miter saw taking an interest in construction. She knows construction is not just a “guys only” field, and she wants to encourage more females to learn hands-on skills they can use for the rest of their lives, perhaps in trades careers. The STEM, computer, and construction parapro for fourth and fifth graders at Danielsville Elementary School took construction classes in school and worked in field in her 20s.

Hanson has replaced the recently retired Anja Cleveland, who started the construction classes at Danielsville Elementary, the only elementary school in the county with such a program.

Cleveland used a $2,500 grant from HireSmart Cares, a nonprofit focused on workforce development, to set up Hanson with materials for the first half of the 2024-25 school year. Hanson spent the latter half of the past school year watching and learning from Cleveland.

“Oh my goodness, I learned so much from her,” she said. “She’s reminded me of things that I’ve forgotten over the past. There have been some things that I think, ‘How am I supposed to make this hole right here in this part of this wood?’ She’s been great.”

Under Cleveland, Danielsville Elementary students took on some big group projects, such as building picnic tables and a Gaga ball pit for the school. Hanson said she’s starting with smaller projects this year as she gets grounded in her new role, such as cement coasters, coin banks, footrests, planters, peg games, tissue boxes, a bathroom soap table, and Christmas trees.

“This week and last week, they’ve been working on making a Georgia outline map out of nails,” she said. “So they’re practicing their hammering skills with nails, and then we’re wrapping the string around it. And then, of course, I want to do the cement, like the mortar, playing around a little bit. We’re going to make tissue boxes for some of the teachers and some footrests. We’ll make Christmas trees where they can hang an ornament in the middle of it — cut out a hole in the middle of it.”

Hanson said the kids will produce teacher appreciation gifts for staff at the school. She notes how loud the construction class can be and says she’s grateful to other teachers for tolerating the noise and recognizing the importance of what the students are learning.

Seeing kids’ faces light up as they gain confidence is a true joy for Hanson.

“I saw a lot of them look like they’re really scared to start with, like they didn’t feel that this is something they can do,” she said. “But seeing them, especially some of the girls with a miter saw, put their hands on the tools, and see they can do it, that boosted their spirits.”

She said she wants the students to feel confident in tackling hands-on tasks, and she hopes their taste of construction in elementary school will spark an interest in more learning later in high school.

“I want them to feel like they can take these classes as they get older,” she said.

HireSmart Cares supports local workforce development initiatives like the Danielsville Elementary School construction program. The nonprofit’s mission is to help the next generation find meaningful careers and be leaders of tomorrow. The organization’s specific focus is helping youth develop skills that could lead to successful agriculture or trades-based careers. Those with an idea for how HireSmart can help local youth can email info@hiresmartcares.org.