Perry Central construction students help build Habitat house in Cannelton

Students in Perry Central’s Commodore Construction program helped move a Habitat for Humanity house to a Cannelton job site May 5, turning a classroom pathway into hands-on work tied to Perry County’s affordable housing needs.

Perry County Habitat for Humanity said the school team helped make the house happen, linking Perry Central Community School Corporation’s construction program with a real build instead of a practice project. School communications say Commodore Construction students manage the process from design to packaging, and the house is built in two parts in Perry Central’s workshop before being transported to the lot.

The project has already given students a chance to work through multiple phases of a home build. Perry Central’s Commodores live feed said the Habitat house was coming together with plumbing and electrical roughed in, drywall hung, finished and primed, flooring underway and cabinets set. Another school update said the home had been moved to its permanent location.

Perry Central’s message has been clear: the work is about more than construction techniques. “What a great opportunity for our students to learn firsthand about the construction industry and, more importantly, how to serve their community!” the school said in a live-feed update.

The Cannelton project also builds on a growing local partnership. Perry Habitat said a Tell City home completed in fall 2025 was built with Perry Central’s Commodore Construction program for the Bittner family. In August 2025, WJTS reported that Perry Central students had started work on their third Habitat for Humanity home, showing the school’s construction pipeline is becoming a steady contributor to local housing work.

That pipeline matters in Perry County, where Habitat homes depend on volunteer labor, donated materials and community support to move from framed structure to finished house. A Perry County Community Foundation announcement said it awarded $10,000 to Perry County, Indiana Habitat for Humanity for construction of a new home for a Perry County partner family, adding another layer of backing for the local housing effort.

For Perry Central students, the benefit is immediate: jobsite discipline, teamwork and construction experience. For Cannelton and the rest of Perry County, the payoff is a home that advances through the real Habitat process and, eventually, a new path to affordable homeownership for one local family.