WIX Filters and O’Reilly Auto Parts, partners with Tomorrow’s Technician as title sponsors for the “2012 School of the Year” competition at ttschooloftheyear.com, have announced the Top 25 schools selected from nearly 340 entrants.
“We are proud to play a role in shaping future technicians as part of the ‘School of the Year’ competition,” said Mike Harvey, brand manager for WIX Filters, which was an associate sponsor of last year’s competition. “We are committed to providing excellence in education for the next generation of technicians.”
The Top 25 schools are:
Region One
Rio Hondo College, Whittier, Calif.
Dallas County Community College District – Brookhaven, Farmers Branch, Texas
Pima Community College, Tucson, Ariz.
WyoTech, Long Beach, Calif.
New Mexico Junior College, Hobbs, N.M.
San Diego Continuing Education, San Diego, Calif.
Southeast Community College, Milford, Neb.
Region Two
Marchman Technical School, New Port Richey, Fla.
Chipola College, Mirianna, Fla.
Providence Senior High School, Charlotte, N.C.
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, Elizabethtown, Ky.
Cope Area Career Center, Cope, S.C.
Midlands Technical College, Columbia, S.C.
Region Three
Clover Park Technical College, Lakewood, Wash.
Reynolds High School, Troutdale, Ore.
Northwest Kansas Technical College, Goodland, Kan.
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Ill.
Grafton High School, Grafton, Wis.
Iowa Western Community College, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Salt Lake Community College, Sandy, Utah
Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio
Region Four
Assabet Valley Regional Technical School, Marlborough, Mass.
Charles H. Bohlen, Jr. Technical Center, Watertown, N.Y.
Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, Pa.
Berks Career and Technology Center, Leesport, Pa.
A W Beattie Career Center, Allison Park, Pa.
Lakes Region Community College, Laconia, N.H.
2012 marks the fifth year of the national contest to find and name the best technician training school in the country. Due to the overwhelming response and increase in school entrants by 20 percent, the top 20 schools were expanded to a list of 25 this year.
Of the 340 entrants nominated, 121 were from different high schools, technical schools and colleges. Also new this year, instructors were able to post a video on the Tomorrow’s Technician YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/tomorrowstechnician) highlighting their school’s automotive program.
“Babcox and Tomorrow’s Technician share O’Reilly Auto Parts and WIX Filters’ support to dedicated students vying to be the future leaders in this industry,” said Jeff Stankard, publisher of Tomorrow’s Technician, a Babcox Media publication for automotive students. “The ‘School of the Year’ competition has been a great success and we are thrilled with the increase of entrants this year. We look forward to more opportunities to reward student’s commitment to automotive excellence.”
The School of the Year program is open to all high schools or post-secondary schools that have a subscription to Tomorrow’s Technician. Judges will continue to review entry criteria and select the top school from each of the four regions in the U.S. – or the Final Four. The winner will be selected from the four finalists and announced in October.
The winning school will receive a visit by Tomorrow’s Technician staff and program sponsors; $2,500 WIX Filters donation to the school’s program; O’Reilly and WIX Filters gear (hats, backpacks, shop banners and stools, product samples); and an appearance by either the WIX or O’Reilly Auto Parts mobile marketing unit. In addition, the winning school’s instructor and guest will travel to Las Vegas and attend a Babcox recognition dinner at AAPEX in October.
Each school nominated will receive national recognition on Tomorrow’s Technician’s website, as well as through social media outlets. Schools that are selected to the Final Four will receive a more than 200-piece professional automotive tool set from O’Reilly Auto Parts and $500 in gift cards ($250 each from O’Reilly Auto Parts and WIX Filters).
