Chad Orcutt originally wanted the “neglected, old, dilapidated
building” in Oak Park to be a roller rink when he first leased it
in September 2021. Reality won out, however, and the Community
Shop Class, a hands-on, inclusive learning environment for
neurodivergent and underserved communities, was born. 

The Community Shop Class building on Stockton Boulevard on August
30.

“Celebrating the five-year anniversary of shop class today; this
is amazing!” Orcutt tells the dozens of students, employees,
supporters, and volunteers who turned out during the Aug. 30
party at the 3818 Stockton Boulevard location to applaud the
milestone. “We shouldn’t be here. This was a dumb idea, and it
was a prototype that I thought would fail in the first two
years.”

Inside the Community Shop Class space.

Dumb idea or not, Orcutt left a 13-year career at Apple to seek
an undetermined vision, then signed a lease five years ago for
the building that formerly housed a motorcycle club, line dancing
group and Mexican restaurant. After figuring out the astronomical
cost of a roller rink, he changed plans and, after nine months of
renovation, it became the nonprofit Community Shop Class with the
goal of helping kids just like himself with
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Chad Orcutt chats with students in the Community Shop Class’
summer camp program at a fifth-anniversary party on August 30.

In the process, however, Orcutt says, while trying to thrive in
the rough environment along Stockton Boulevard, he gave out food
to the neighborhood on Thanksgiving, started the Fix-it Café and
loaned out tools while teaching thousands of students the basics
of how to build tiny homes and tackle projects from simple DIY
tasks to more complex jobs. 

“Celebrating the five-year anniversary of shop class today; this
is amazing!” Chad Orcutt tells the dozens of students, employees,
supporters, and volunteers who turned out during the Aug. 30
party at the 3818 Stockton Blvd. location to applaud the
milestone.

“Growing up, I was a non-reader and impacted by ADHD pretty
severely,” he says. “And school sucked for me until I got into
high school, where we had a ton of shop classes. Here, I wanted
to see if I could build a type of learning center that works for
kids with ADHD.

“That was my entire intent when I got started — I wanted to get a
bunch of ADHD kids and tell them they were good and tell them I
was going to help them build s—.”

Remnants of the original Community Shop Class, where tools were
available for members to check out and use.

Orcutt, who lives in Oak Park, says they faced a major crisis
earlier this year when drug dealers moved into the block and
started to intimidate them, with one even pinning assistant
manager Allison “AJ” Rossell up against a table before others
intervened. Orcutt says they increased security and began hiring
armed guards for events.

“I love the community aspect of shop class, and I love the
primary mission of giving neurodivergent kids a place where they
can shine and learn in a way that works for them,” volunteer
Leslie Gandy says.

“Are you kidding me?” Orcutt says, thanking Rossell for all of
her help. “We were finished, but we stuck it out. (Councilmember)
Caity Maple’s office (and) the mayor’s office helped us. We got
some private security, and finally, we got them off our block. We
stood up to them. We had to because we wanted to save this spot,
and this building was too important.”

Maples’ office credits Orcutt and businesses like Shop Class with
helping revitalize key Sacramento neighborhoods like Oak Park.

Community Shop Class founder Chad Orcutt with assistant manager
Allison “AJ” Rossell at the five-year celebration party on Aug.
30.

“Community Shop Class is a critical gathering space and community
conduit, where people can find help, connection, and purpose,”
Councilmember Caity Maple, whose district represents Oak Park,
said in a statement. (Maple is currently on maternity leave.)
“Places like this are exactly why we need to keep investing in
Stockton Boulevard and neighborhoods that have gone far too long
without the attention and resources they deserve.”

Five years after signing that lease, while vestiges of the
original “shop class” idea remain, the original concept
admittedly failed, Orcutt says, as he grew tired of chasing the
many grants needed to stay afloat. But as he moves into a new
direction, the space endures, and he credits numerous
benefactors, including the “big four” — Wendy Abrams and her
Eleven Eleven Foundation, Sierra Service Project, SMUD, and
California Volunteers. 

After taking over the property on Oak Park’s Stockton Boulevard
in September 2021, it took almost a year of renovating before it
was “habitable,” founder Chad Orcutt says.

The next phase, or Shop Class 3.0 as he calls it, will be
“education enhancement” programs for homeschooled and charter
school students. There will also be clubs geared towards
builders, entrepreneurs, innovators, arts, and drama, while
continuing to run a program manufacturing tiny homes. 

“I think that making it on Stockton Boulevard is a totally
different animal than people who do business in other areas,”
Orcutt says. “I couldn’t be more proud that we survived this.”

Leslie Gandy says she followed Community Shop Class on social
media for about a year and “loved everything they were doing”
before volunteering.

“I came to the shop and I dove all in,” she says at the
anniversary party, calling herself a do-it-all “utility
infielder. 

“I love the mission and I was here as one of the volunteers for
the summer camps this summer,” Gandy says. “I love the community
aspect of shop class, and I love the primary mission of giving
neurodivergent kids a place where they can shine and learn in a
way that works for them.”

–

Never miss a story: Get Comstock’s weekly newsletter delivered to your
inbox.