The Joint School of Carpentry recently completed its third year of The Carpenter's Challenge Summer Youth Employment Program.  This program is offered in conjunction with the District of Columbia's Department of Employment Services (DOES) annual program to employ the District's youth.  Last year The Carpenters' Challenge employed 23 students between the ages of 16 – 19 years old in a six-week program where the young people learned the fundamentals of the carpentry trade by doing hands-on carpentry.  Our students built picture frames, stepstools, tool boxes, picnic tables and storage sheds while learning how to use hand and power tools, construction materials, mathematics and OSHA-specified safety skills.  The picnic tables and sheds were donated to local high schools and charities.   Moreover, these students earned a DC living wage of $5.85 per hour and a $2.00 per hour bonus, paid by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters.

Students came from the following District of Columbia organizations:

• Booker T. Washington Charter School for the Technical Arts
• Spingarn High School
• Young America Builds Public Charter School
• DC Housing Authority
• ARCH Training Center
• Child and Family Services Agency

For more information, please contact the JSC at (301) 736-1696.