The Automotive Technologies pathway is the gateway to a wide range of careers and opportunities. This pathway will teach you how to care for your vehicle, saving you money. It will teach you a trade that will be around forever. You will always be able to make money knowing this trade. You will be able to learn how to make a car better, faster, and more powerful. If you are a hands-on person who likes cool cars, fast cars, or just drives a car this class is for you.
Automotive Technologies I
This course is designed as an entry level course laying the foundation of automotive principles. In this course students will learn the fundamentals of the different automotive systems. These systems range from engines to electronics and safety to suspension. Students will get information that will lay the groundwork for them to proceed through the pathway and to succeed as a technician or hobbyist.
Automotive Technologies II
This course is designed to get the students in the shop and begin getting hands on experience. This course is 80% shop time working on projects. The other 20% is spent further learning automotive principles and the systems of the automobile. The projects are constantly changing. We work on the students’ cars, faculty cars, and shop project cars. Students get a vast array of experiences because of this. We will do everything from general service, diagnosis, and repair to customization, power and performance modification, and performance testing.
Automotive Technologies III
This course is the last year of the three-year pathway. Students taking the third year of the pathway will be in the shop 98% of the time. Like Automotive Technologies II, this course is project based. We work on actual vehicles. This course emphasizes hands on experience to ensure that students who are in or plan to go into the work force have a strong understanding of all basic automotive principles. This greatly helps our students become workforce ready. Students in the course also play a large role in running our Mustang Dyno chassis dyno. This allows us to run vehicles in the shop testing their power output, watching the computer parameters, and much more. Students will gain many abilities from running the dyno. Upon completion of the pathway, students will take an ASE (Automotive Standard of Excellence) test. This will be their end of pathway assessment. If passed, they will have earned one of the ASE certifications.
SkillsUSA is a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) that provides educational programs, events and competitions emphasizing career and technical education. Competitions include local, regional, state, and national events where thousands of students compete in hands-on skill and leadership contests. Students utilize the skills they are learning in their classrooms in order to compete at a region, state, and national.