The CTEC Automotive of North Kansas City Schools received its 2020-2021 School of the Year accolades in public, at the WIX Filters and Babcox Media Night of Excellence on Tuesday, Nov. 2, at Joe’s Garage on the AAPEX show floor. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, the school is the 13th recipient of the annual program, naming it the best technical training school in the country. WIX Filters and O’Reilly Auto Parts are sponsors of the national award in conjunction with Tomorrow’s Technician, a Babcox Media publication dedicated to automotive students.
Jack Stow from NKC CTEC, accepted the award from Doug Kaufman, Tomorrow’s Tech editor.
“We are honored to award CTEC Automotive the 2020 School of the Year award. The initiative they have shown during an unprecedented year by continuing to learn and grow their knowledge, even creating a student-driven YouTube Lab, is inspiring and impressive,” said Jeff Blocher, director of sales and marketing for WIX Filters. “These students have made the most of our new normal, and we are proud to celebrate tomorrow’s technicians and future leaders in our industry. Mr. Stow made it clear that he will not let the world we are living in today keep him or his students from achieving excellence.”
The winning school receives:
- $10,000 WIX Filters donation to the school’s program
- WIX Filters gear
“North Kansas City Schools would like to thank everyone at WIX Filters, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Tomorrow’s Technician magazine,” said Jack Stow, CTEC Automotive instructor. “Being nominated for School of the Year and representing the Midwest in this contest since 2018 has opened doors and provided countless opportunities for our automotive students. We’re very proud of our students and our automotive technology program. We also want to thank the other outstanding programs across the country that participate in this annual contest as we have admired their efforts for many years. To be considered their peer is an accomplishment unto itself.”
“CTEC Automotive had an incredibly strong submission, and the initiative the students took to continue their learning despite roadblocks from a global pandemic deserves recognition,” said Jim Merle, publisher for Tomorrow’s Technician. “CTEC Automotive is an inspiring program, and we encourage all to look to the example they have set.”
The School of the Year program is open to all high schools and postsecondary schools with a subscription to Tomorrow’s Technician magazine. The past year provided confusion and hardship for many with the onslaught of COVID-19, but 21 schools still submitted applications highlighting their programs. Students showed perseverance and dedication, creating and submitting most of the video presentations themselves. Judges selected four finalists from the video entries, one from each region — West, Mountain, Central and South.
The year’s three runners-up are:
- Warriors Garage, Fallbrook Union High School, Fallbrook, California
- Bonneville High School, Washington Terrace, Utah
- The Rebel Garage, George County High School, Lucedale, Mississippi
Each runner-up received a $500 gift card from O’Reilly Auto Parts.
For more information, visit wixfilters.com.