Henrico students build school's new wing as part of trades program

When you think of a construction job site, high school students probably aren't the workers you picture. Most of them are barely old enough to vote.

"As an 18-year-old that's doing something like this, it's amazing," said Lamar Pettiford, a senior at Varina High School.

Students enrolled in Henrico County Public Schools' Advanced Career Education program, known as ACE, are completing the second floor of the Hermitage Advanced Career Center. From installing electrical to sealing HVAC systems, these contractors in training are doing real work on a real commercial job site.

"Knowing our programs are growing, knowing ... that we needed a commercial job site," said HCPS Director of Workforce and Career Development Mac Beaton. "Everyone agreed to build the second-floor shelf space and let our kids do it. It’s truly a win, win, win, for everyone."

Beaton says the second level of the state-of-the-art ACE Career and Technical Education Center was deliberately built unfinished in 2024, giving students pursing the construction trade a job site as their classroom.

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