DPSCD gives $1M donation to enhance automotive education for Detroit students
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Some Detroit students are getting a big boost to their career path.
A $1 million gift is helping enhance an automotive education program at the Breithaupt Career and Technical Center in Detroit’s public schools.
The gift from the Joel Landy Foundation to the DPSCD Foundation is helping to enhance an automotive education program at the Breithaupt Career and Technical Center in Detroit’s public schools.
Career and technical education is not a thing in America back in 2019. Some 85% of high school students have taken some CTE training as students can get right into their career fields. This time it's automotive.
In many ways, a solid education is exactly about having an abundance of choices, as you can decide what you want to do and where you want to go. These students at Breithaupt Career and Technical Center are learning collision repair, how to fix dents, learning how to paint, prime, seal—everything you need to know.
"It’s taught me a lot, a lot of discipline, it's taught me a lot of patience. It taught me a lot, and I’ve learned so much about cars," said student Labib Islam.
Getting students ready for entry-level jobs, mostly hands-on jobs, trying to get kids ready for real jobs.
"The industry is lacking technicians now, so these guys come from various schools over to our program to learn a skill, a craft, a trade," said instructor Ronald Todd.
Their instructor says they’ve got a state-of-the-art frame machine and spray booths, and now a $1 million dollar gift from the Joel Landy Foundation to the DPSCD Foundation is helping to enhance this automotive education for 75 students right now.
"When students leave here, they’re credentialed to start to get jobs and eventually be fully certified to get jobs in this field," said DPSCD superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti.
It’s probably apropos that these 10th-12th grade students will be trained in the newly named Joel Landy Automotive Training Lab at Breithaupt.
Along with this additional infusion of cash, we’re told many of these students will be able to be placed into internships where they can get additional practical knowledge in the workforce before they graduate.