Building Brighter Futures: Fullerton School District Tiny Home Project

At Nicolas Junior High School in Fullerton, students in the Construction Academy are building tiny homes for classmates and their families experiencing housing insecurity. The Tiny Home Project is an innovative initiative that combines career technical skills, academics and community impact, giving students hands-on experience in construction while directly serving families in need.

The Fullerton Education Foundation alongside educators and students aspired to add solar panel systems to the tiny homes to reduce the cost of electricity, increase energy efficiency, and provide students with educational opportunities. This year, the group celebrated the completion of their third tiny home, this time with solar power, thanks to a Bright Futures Grant from Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).

Each tiny home is a 192-square–foot fully furnished living space complete with a kitchen, bathroom, shower, sleeping loft, heating and cooling systems and now, rooftop solar panels. Built on a trailer foundation, the homes are designed to provide safe temporary housing for families within the district experiencing homelessness or housing instability.

And the need is significant. Currently, 191 families in the Fullerton School District are identified as underhoused or unhoused.

The Tiny Home Project provides more than shelter. Families living in the tiny homes also receive wraparound support services including case management, access to community resources, employment assistance and connections to healthcare and essential services, creating a bridge to permanent housing solutions.

For students, the project offers something equally transformative.

Throughout the school year, students learn technical construction skills including framing, drywall installation, flooring, cabinetry, electrical preparation and renewable energy integration.

As part of the solar panel installation process, students also participated in an educational session with members of OC Goes Solar, learning more about the benefits and long-term impact of solar energy.

Students also experience the power of collaboration and service.

At the project’s recent celebration event, students reflected on what impacted them most.

“I loved being able to work together,” several students shared, highlighting the teamwork and sense of shared purpose that shaped the build from start to finish.

That spirit of collective impact is what makes the Tiny Home Project so powerful.

Ruthi Hanchett, a Fullerton School District Trustee, spoke to the broader vision behind the initiative, saying, “I hope it creates a vision that students and the community can partner together to start to address homelessness and make a difference on a bigger scale.”

That vision is already becoming reality.

What began as a classroom construction project has grown into a model for career readiness, community impact and clean energy education. With support from partners like OCPA, students are seeing firsthand how coming together to find innovative solutions – renewable energy included – can power solutions for some of our community’s most pressing challenges. Now in its fourth year, the Tiny Home Project is expanding after receiving a three-year grant from the Orange County Department of Education.

OCPA is proud to support projects that equip students with practical ways to learn about renewable energy while creating brighter futures for local communities. To learn more about the Bright Futures Grant program, visit https://www.ocpower.org/bright-futures-grant-2026/.

About Orange County Power Authority

The Orange County Power Authority is a not-for-profit public agency that offers clean power at stable rates, significantly reducing energy-related greenhouse emissions and enabling reinvestment in local energy programs. To learn more, visit www.ocpower.org.