Nekoosa Wins Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Grand Prize

Nekoosa, Wis. (WFHR, WIRI) – A Harbor Freight Tools for School Grand Prize was awarded this week in the Nekoosa School District. An assembly at Nekoosa High School on Tuesday surprised Tech Ed Teacher Benjamin Peters. He said he knew he was a finalist for the competition, but he didn’t know he had won a grand prize. The amount? $100,000 in total. $70,000 for the program and $30,000 for Mr. Peters.

The Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence is meant to increase understanding, support, and investment in skilled trades education in U.S. Public Schools. As stated on their website, “The Harbor Freight Tools for School Prize for Teaching Excellence, started in 2017, recognizes outstanding skilled trades teachers and programs in public high schools in the United States.”

This year Harbor Freight awarded $1.5 million in prizes overall. Five grand prize winners received $100,000 and twenty prize winners received $50,000.

Nekoosa SD Investment in Technical Education

This is the second year at the Nekoosa Middle School where students in the Tech Ed Classroom have their own work station with a computer and 3D printer. Peters said they took a risk five years ago to invest a large portion of funds from the referendum into the Tech Ed program.

“We’re really passionate obviously about this idea of the CAD FAB LAB,” says Peters. “The classroom with a 3D printer at every workstation. I think it’s just a really great model for effective teaching of CAD.”

Students start at the middle school level with an introduction to Computer-Aided Design (CAD). High School Principal Keith Johnson says he has noticed a difference in the past couple of years as students make the jump to high school.

“No student is unaware of what Tech Ed is,” says Johnson. “Some students are super excited…and they come in knowing that they want to continue learning about 3D printing and CAD. And some students are really excited about going into other areas of Tech Ed.”

Looking Ahead

Johnson says he’s hearing from employers about the need for CAD and drafting skills in their employees. And he said it’s not always the employers one would think of.

“As that need continues to grow, schools are going to continue to try and respond,” says Johnson. “And I think that we’re in the fortunate spot that we’re out front on this.” He continues, “We have an opportunity to help other schools, whether it be regional or statewide or even outside of the state to see what we’ve done and we’re happy to collaborate.”

Support for Programs

Peters says this prize money will help the Tech Ed Department keep their equipment in excellent working order and help sustain the program for years to come. The district is looking at going to referendum again after last year’s referendum failed. Johnson shared that some positions had to be eliminated and there were reductions due to the referendum not passing.

Johnson said, “It has had an impact on student learning and student opportunity.”

If approved by the School Board, the Nekoosa School District will go back to referendum on the April 7, 2026 ballot.

“We’ll ask the community to support the schools,” says Johnson. “The idea of strong schools and a strong community are vital for each other.”