Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC) teacher was surprised on Tuesday with a national $100,000 prize recognizing excellence in skilled trades education. Mike Degitis who teaches infrastructure engineering and construction, is one of 25 winners of the 2024 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. The school’s skilled trades program will receive $70,000, and Degitis will receive $30,000.
In Degitis’ classroom, learning begins with addressing a real-life challenge, such as proposing a solution for the unhoused in Denver. For the past five years, students built five tiny homes a year at material cost for a village in Downtown Denver, which provides housing and wraparound services such as career counseling and mental healthcare. Now students plan to build a double wide trailer for the unhoused in partnership with Habitat for Humanity in Berthed, Colorado.
“As a skilled trades teacher, what I love most is the opportunity to ignite a passion for craftsmanship in my students. I'm deeply passionate about sharing not just the technical skills but also the values of dedication, precision, and creativity that are inherent in the trades,” Degitis said.
Degitis began his teaching career in the math department at a traditional high school in Denver. In 2019, his district established the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC), a career and technical education facility aimed at reshaping high school education and career preparation. When the CCIC opened, Degitis found his dream job, merging his love for building with shaping young minds. He seeks to inspire students to pursue careers in the skilled trades by sharing his experiences as an entrepreneur, carpenter, and remodeler. About 150 students enroll in his courses with 50 on the waitlist. Students receive their OSHA 10 certifications, and HBI PACT Core certifications. Enrollment of female students has increased from six to 15 percent.
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a program of The Smidt Foundation, established by Harbor Freight Tools owner and founder Eric Smidt, to advance excellent skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools. With a deep respect for the dignity of these fields and for the intelligence and creativity of people who work with their hands, Harbor Freight Tools for Schools aims to drive a greater understanding of and investment in skilled trades education, believing that access to quality skilled trades education gives high school students pathways to graduation, opportunity, good jobs and a workforce our country needs. Harbor Freight Tools is a major supporter of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools program. For more information, visit: HFTforschools.org.
Since 2017, more than $8.9 million has been awarded to over 150 teachers and their schools’ programs. In 2020, CCIC Automotive Technology Instructor Brian Manley won $100,000 as well. This year there were more than 900 applications for the prize. The application process included three rounds of judging, each by an independent panel of experts from education, industry, nonprofits, and philanthropy. In 2024, there are winners from 19 states.
Posted on 10/8/2024.
