The Washington D.C. Auto Show highlights the future of the automotive industry, but they opened the show by honoring local educators, including John King from Fairfax High School. The Champions for Automotive Education awards to outstanding educators in the automotive field. This year’s winners represented teachers from the District of Columbia, Prince George’s County, Howard County, and Montgomery County were celebrated for their significant contributions to automotive education.
The educators were presented with a two-year lease for an electric Toyota bZ4X. The objective is to provide the teachers with firsthand experience of electric vehicles and to expose students to EV technology.
“We are honored to continue supporting these esteemed educators,” said Joe Hemberger, Director of Education for ADEI said in a statement. “Through the daily use of these new vehicles, these top educators within the DMV market will successfully expand their electric vehicle training capabilities.”
Champions for Auto Education is a transformative journey that DARCARS has embarked on to elevate automotive education, with a specific focus on electric vehicle technology. Its members are composed mainly of auto technician instructors in the DMV region who are affiliated with ADEI’s auto technician school. By partnering with leading auto manufacturers, this initiative strategically selects these educators to undergo specialized training with the goal of understanding the basic maintenance and repair of this new technology to ultimately train the auto technicians of tomorrow.
“As we have recognized the ongoing evolution in the automotive landscape with the introduction of electric vehicles, we have taken a front seat to advancing training programs for our educators,” said Jamie Darvish, COO of DARCARS said in a statement. “We understand that the key to shaping the future lies in the hands of skilled technicians.”
Along with DARCARS, the Washington, D.C. Auto Show is also committed to automotive education. Annually, the show collaborates with Toyota to host Career Day, an industry-focused initiative welcoming over 200 local students eager to explore the automotive sector. These students are granted exclusive access to the show floor, offering them a unique opportunity to gain insights into the dynamic world of the automotive industry, learn about job opportunities within the field, and embrace the current technology from the industry experts currently leading the way.
Earlier this school year, Mr. King and his auto-tech students were profiled on WJLA.