Oct. 16, 2020—Four public high school automotive teachers were named winners of the 2020 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, according to a press release, and will receive more than $1 million in prizes.
The automotive teachers named winners are Robert Caylor of Gulfport High School in Gulfport, Miss.; Brian Manley of Cherry Creek Innovation Campus in Centennial, Colo.; Michael Shephard of Union County Career and Technical Institute in Scotch Plains, N.J.; and Wayne Violet of Washington County Technical High School in Hagerstown, Md.
Grand Prize winners, including Manley, and their schools will receive $100,000 to $70,000 for the high school skilled trades program and $30,000 for the teacher. Prize winners, including Caylor, Shephard, and Violet, will each receive $50,000, with $35,000 going to their public high school skilled trades program and $15,000 to the individual teacher.
The 2020 prize drew more than 600 applications from 48 states and included three rounds of judging, each by an independent panel of experts from industry, education, trades, philanthropy and civic leadership.
The Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence was started in 2017 by Eric Smidt, the founder of national tool retailer Harbor Freight Tools, to recognize outstanding instruction in the skilled trades in U.S. public high schools and the teachers who inspire students to learn skills to prepare for life after graduation.
