When a classmate's family lost their home to fire in November 2003, students in the Hana School Building Program worked together during the Thanksgiving weekend building the family of six a new place to live.

During their Christmas break the year before, students in the program led by contractor Rick Rutiz rebuilt the home of Clyde Pelekai, a disabled kupuna whose roof was so termite-eaten it had fallen apart.

That project was one of several the students have undertaken to make life easier for the seniors in the small Hana community.

"They build ramps for (the kupuna's) convenience. If their homes are deteriorating and their roof is leaking, they go down to help," Pelekai said, referring to wheelchair ramps the students installed at 17 homes. "I think it's a great program."

He was impressed by the quality of work that went into repairing his studio, a job he had started on his own despite physical limitations from a stroke in 1998. "I don't know if anyone can do it better," he said.

Forty-two students from the program recently completed construction of a substance-abuse and counseling center, the seventh structure they have built for their school.

"In the past five years we've done six main classrooms on campus, we've done a large pavilion for outdoor learning for the elementary school, we've done three kupuna houses, we've done the one for the family whose house burnt down and we completely remodeled the youth center in Hana," Rutiz said.

"I think it's wonderful," said principal Rick Paul. "It's amazing to me that kids put structures on the campus and the things they've done have really benefited us and it's super-quality work."

Now in its sixth year, the Ma Ka Hana Ka 'Ike program gives kids a reason to come to a school that has had to have a private educational company come in to try to boost consistently low math scores on standardized tests. The program takes a hands-on approach to teaching math and other academics while instilling its participants with the spirit of community service, giving them afterschool jobs and leaving them with practical skills to last a lifetime.

"This is a program for all kids, which includes at-risk youth," Paul said. "It gives them pride in their work, and they excel in front of their peers."

Their work touches many members of the community. "It's very visible," said Ray Henderson, executive director of 'Ohana Makamae, Hana's Family Resource Center, which will staff the new counseling center at the high school. "It's really a win-win situation for everybody."

Henderson's own sons went through the program and were able to help do some remodeling and build an addition to their house.

Rutiz, who has been a contractor for 25 years, said it was always his dream to work with children and provide them with a hands-on learning opportunity.

"In Hana there's so many great families and great kids but the classroom does not seem as important to them as it does to some; therefore the kids get behind and they're labeled and categorized and school becomes meaningless to them by time they get to high school," Rutiz said.

Students can learn about math, architecture and art in a practical way while performing community service.

"When we build a classroom, we try not to slap things up but do it artsy with as much creativity and imagination as possible," he said.

The results give the students something to be proud of. Rutiz hopes "the kids will start to act their new role and live as a person who is a person of value."

He hopes that community recognition will help the kids make better choices.

Senior Huakane Medeiros, 17, said he likes the opportunity to do the same work as adults. The students participate in all phases of construction, including the plumbing and electricity.

"We do pretty much the whole thing," said Huakane, who is considering studying to be an electrician at Honolulu Community College.

"I'd rather be out there working and learning things I'll use later in my life," he said. "I think there should be more programs like this everywhere."

Senior James Freudenberg II is already putting his skills to use. For the past eight months, the 17-year-old has spent afternoons and weekends building a two-bedroom house for his grandfather.

"I'm doing everything on my own," he said. "I started it last February and right now I'm doing the roof. I'll probably be done in late February."

The class is useful for smaller projects, too, he said.

"If you want to do something around your house, you don't have to hire someone," he said.

Students who work after school get paid $6.50 an hour. They also get $4 toward the purchase of tools each hour. By the end of the year, students might have earned up to $1,000 worth of tools, Rutiz said.

Rutiz's nonprofit organization relies heavily on grants and contributions from the community. The program's budget is about $180,000 a year, with an additional $70,000 a year in in-kind donations. The Maui building community helps teach the students about electricity, plumbing, roofing, stained glass and drywall and lends heavy machinery when needed.

While the kids could build and sell cottages for profit, Rutiz operates from the standpoint that it is better for the students to give the gift of a beautiful home.

Forty to 50 kids participate in the program every year, a large percentage of the 110-student high school. Some take Rutiz's building and construction or woodworking classes, while others come to work after school.

The afterschool component is run like a job site, and Rutiz will send students home if they aren't pulling their weight.

"It's all 'you come when you want to work and you're prepared to work and you better work while you're here.' Nobody slouches," he said.

While working, students pick up academic skills by figuring out how much a house will cost, how much tile they need for the floor or how to cut wood to build a roof.

"If they don't cut it right, it doesn't fit. That's the consequence, not a grade," Rutiz said.

Experienced students also get the chance to be role models for those entering the program.

"The third-year students work as teachers for the first-year students and so on down the line," Rutiz said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.