A Central Lyon Industrial Technology teacher is one of two Iowa educators to receive a teaching prize of 75-thousand dollars from a national tool company. Grant Engel was surprised in an assembly at the school Tuesday as a Harbor Freight tool box was rolled out that had a check for the award. Engel spoke after the announcement, saying it was a little overwhelming.
Engel teaches classes in things like the construction trades, wood and metal shop. Engel will receive 25-thousand dollars, and the school will get 50-thousand dollars of the prize. Engel says he will talk with the staff about how to use the school’s 50-thousand dollars. He is interested in getting a heavy equipment simulator to help kids looking to get a C-D-L to be able to operate heavy equipment, excavators and other machinery.
Engel has partnered with a local company to develop a residential wiring course for kids. He joined the school in 2015 and has expanded the program from 14 students to 80 and started the tradition of students building a tiny house. That continued for a while, and now for the last several years, they’ve been building full-sized houses in Rock Rapids. The other Iowa teacher to win the prize is Chad Donahue, who teaches welding at Des Moines Public Schools Central Campus. There were 25 of the prizes awarded nationwide.
