Clayton Team Members Help Clayton-Bradley Students ACE High School Course

An educational collaboration with Clayton-Bradley Academy demonstrates that Clayton’s commitment to Do good through community outreach extends to the next generation.

Located near Clayton’s home office in Maryville, Tennessee, Clayton-Bradley is a PreK-12 school that offers project-based learning and a curriculum emphasizing real-world applications. “Designing with the Pros” is a semester-long class, now in its fourth year, that gives sophomore through senior high school students an opportunity to explore multiple aspects of home design and construction. The course is taught by Clayton team members alongside classroom teacher Julie Howell.

Designing with the Pros is affiliated with the local chapter of the nationwide nonprofit ACE Mentor Program of America, which pairs industry professionals with students for “day in the life” introductions to the ACE (architecture, construction and engineering) fields. Students participate in hands-on challenges and execute a final project that synthesizes their learning.

Rick Boyd, retired Clayton Home Building Group® chief operating officer and president of manufacturing, originally presented the idea for the class. His goal was to offer today’s students the chance to have team member experts introduce them to the ACE fields. Boyd, a West Point graduate who ultimately became a civil engineer, says that he proposed the class because as a student, he would have loved a similar course to help shape his career path.

Boyd says, “ACE provides a unique opportunity for the professionals at Clayton Homes to interact with students at Clayton-Bradley Academy to teach critical life skills and to familiarize them with many aspects associated with careers in architecture, construction management and engineering. This collaboration creates fulfilling and rewarding opportunities for Clayton team members to have a positive influence on young members of our community and their parents.”

Clayton team members have enthusiastically participated in the class since its beginning. In fact, this year’s course included instruction in the various facets of architecture, design and engineering by 20 different Clayton professionals over the course of the semester.

John Mashburn, a Clayton Home Building Group architect who shares his expertise with the students, says, “I have been fortunate to be involved with this program for several years. Being able to share my professional knowledge and experience with each ACE student is inspiring. Getting to know the students and see them embrace the projects and ACE career paths available is a truly fulfilling experience.”

Some of the learning experiences in this course take place away from the classroom. Clayton team members take students on tours of Clayton’s home office and design center, the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s departments of architecture and engineering and a Clayton homebuilding facility. Students also participate in “Trades Day” at a local community college, which exposes students to professional trades like welding, masonry and electrical, all important to the homebuilding industry.

Another yearly Clayton team member instructor is Gavin Mabe, Clayton Home Building Group’s senior director of engineering operations. He teaches the students principles of structural engineering through a bridge-building challenge, one of the multiple hands-on experiences offered throughout the course. For this challenge, student teams compete in their classroom to build the model bridge that will support the most weight. This year’s winning bridge supported an incredible 365 pounds!

Mabe says, “Clayton team members take pride in their Designing with the Pros sessions and are committed to providing a high-level educational experience. We appreciate Rick Boyd, who continues to lead and support us even in his retirement. It is rewarding to see students learn and to know that this course sparks some of them to decide on the career they are passionate to pursue.”

For this year’s final project, three teams of students each formed a simulated construction company. They vied for the audience of Clayton team members and Clayton-Bradley staff to award their company with a construction contract—and a cash prize to share. To demonstrate their newfound skills to their audience of “clients,” each team constructed a scale model of the “Island Breeze,” one of Clayton’s modern manufactured home plans.

The three teams were each given a floor plan drawn to scale and a kit with over 600 wall, window and door parts to assemble into a 3-D cutaway model of the home. Students leaned on what they learned all semester to interpret the home’s floor plan, transfer its measurements to the model’s foundation, determine cost estimates and assemble the scale model home.

Final presentations consisted of each team presenting their completed model and a slideshow illustrating their construction process and, critically, lessons they learned throughout the build. Each team— “Volunteer Construction,” “The Canadian Company” and “BAT Construction”—presented with confidence, poise and humor. Their audience was truly impressed!

The winning team, “BAT Construction,” demonstrated their all-girl power with an effective and entertaining presentation, marketing flyer handout and beautifully finished construction model. Members of their team and other teams shared with the audience that Designing with the Pros helped them narrow their interests and determine which college and career paths they hope to travel. Several students said they have decided to pursue a career in architecture, construction or engineering due to taking this course.

The future of architecture, construction and engineering is in great hands with the kinds of students who participated in this year’s Designing with the Pros class. Clayton team members will be here to cheer them on and support their journeys along the way!