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Education

Special Truck Delivers Auto Shop Class To Broward High Schools

Christine DiMattei

In many secondary schools nationwide, classes in vehicle maintenance are falling prey to the same kind of budget cuts eliminating art, music and phys-ed from the curriculum.

But instructors in Broward County have found a way to take automotive classes on the road -- and pull them right up to the school door.

The Automotive Mobile Lab -- about the size of an 18-wheeler -- was designed by the staff of Broward Technical Colleges and was modeled on the kind of trailers used in NASCAR races.

 

The container is divided into two levels; the lower part is equipped with simulators representing virtually every working part of a vehicle;  the upper deck has room for two cars.

Broward Technical Colleges Marketing Coordinator Kim Curry says the stronger emphasis placed on testing in many Broward high schools has led to automotive service programs being cut. 

"They're expensive labs to maintain," says Curry.  "We had to have a way to bring automotive to classrooms.”

Credit Christine DiMattei
Instructor Michael Setzer teaches a class on vehicle brake repair to students at Everglades High in Miramar.

Students who complete the course receive professional auto mechanic certifications on top of their high school diplomas. The program began this year and serves four Broward high schools.

Instructor Edgard Solis says many people don't realize what a lucrative career automotive technology is.

"A lot of technical careers are extremely high-paid, over 100-thousand dollars a year," says Solis. "Automotive technicians who graduate from our programs are 100-percent placed."

Everglades High student Daniel Simpson says he loves the convenience of a full auto technology lab coming to his Miramar school, instead of having to travel to a garage off-site.

"I want to be an automotive technician.  And this could also help with becoming a mechanical engineer," says Simpson." "I'm really learning a lot.”

Christine DiMattei is WLRN's Morning Edition anchor and also reports on Arts & Culture.
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