LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Valley teacher, Alex Bechtler, was surprised with a $100,000 check Tuesday for being a grand prize winner of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence.
"The perfect word is 'speechless,' when you walk in the room and see this. Just 100% speechless," Bechtler said.
He is one of five grand prize winners (25 total winners) across the country honored for his teaching abilities in a variety of trades.
“We are thrilled to honor these 25 dedicated teachers who are making such an important difference in the lives of their students every day,” said Danny Corwin, executive director of Harbor Freight Tools for Schools.
“They have earned this prize because they are highly knowledgeable about the skilled trades, have a deep belief in the potential of their students, and have built programs that prepare students for a multitude of opportunities after high school.”
Bechtler is the advanced manufacturing teacher at the Southeast Career Technical Academy where he was praised for establishing partnerships with close to 20 manufacturing companies, helping his students earn hundreds of certifications through his program and helping them get jobs upon graduation.
"I want excellence in everything that they produce. I want them to be good human beings at the end of the day, and I want them to produce good products wherever they go," Bechtler said.
The $100,000 prize will be split into two parts.
Bechtler will receive $30,000 while the program will receive $70,000, which he said will go toward equipment for his students.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse, trade programs across the country saw high growth during the Spring 2024 enrollment period, with mechanic and repair technologies, precision production, construction trades, and personal and culinary services all seeing notable gains.
"A lot of our kids who... maybe college isn't 100% the goal for them, but they want to get a career-level job, they can come through these programs like this and get a really high skill set and get a job that pays very well," Bechtler said.
This year there were more than 900 applications for the prize.
The application process included three rounds of judging, each by an independent panel of experts from education, industry, nonprofits, and philanthropy.
In some cases, because of school, district or state policy, the programs will receive the entire prize winnings.
