Two Instructors Are Finalists in National Competition for Skilled Trades Teachers
David Krawczyk and Robert Mroz, who teach automotive at Erie 1 BOCES Potter Career and Technical Center in West Seneca, are among 50 finalists for 2020 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. The teachers and their trades programs are in the running for a share of $1 million in total cash awards.
The national finalists now advance to a second round of competition, where they will be asked to respond to online expert led video learning modules designed to solicit their insights and creative ideas about teaching practices. The contenders will be asked how ideas from the modules might be used to inspire students to achieve excellence in the skilled trades. Two rounds of judging, each by separate independent panels of reviewers, will narrow the field to 18 winners and, finally, name three of those teachers Grand Prize recipients. All winners will be announced in late October.
See more details in this press release from Harbor Freight Tools.
More About the Teachers
David Krawczyk and Robert Mroz teach automotive technology and collision repair at Potter Career and Technical Center in West Seneca, New York. Their program curriculum tracks the highest-quality professional standards and aligns with the local community college, and students begin earning college credit as early as tenth grade. Mroz, a 25-year teaching veteran, is an Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) certified instructor and adjunct professor at two local community colleges, where he also trains new teachers. Mroz and Krawczyk partner with local dealerships and collision repair professionals to connect students to internships and post-graduation jobs. Working in small teams in the classroom, their students rotate through every aspect of auto technology and collision repair, from tire patching to metal inert gas (MIG) welding. Mroz and Krawczyk’s students not only earn national automotive certifications in I-CAR, but they also develop maturity and professional skills, from ethics and communications to resume-building and workplace attire.