Since Christmas vacation ended, Jason Warren has been one busy teacher.
In his 14th year as a Career & Technical Education/Transportation instructor at Dos Palos High School, he teaches a unique class that gives students the basics of auto/collision repair, painting, and refinishing.
So as some of his students prepare for a statewide competition, Warren and his students are also preparing for her third annual car show.
“It’s been pretty busy around here,” Warren said. “Since school started up after Christmas, we have hit the ground running.”
Warren explained that his students spend the first year doing classroom work, learning I-Car standards of auto painting and repair.
“When you take your car to an auto repair shop, you will see a sign that says, ‘ASE Certified’, which means the shop operates under industry standards,” he said. “It’s the same thing for an auto collision shop. It will say ‘I-Car Certified’. We teach to those standards.”
The class’s advanced curriculum puts the kids in a shop with all the equipment available for real hands-on learning. The students also have the opportunity to compete with other schools.
Two weeks ago, the class went up against other schools in a hybrid regional competition and DPHS students came away with two gold medals and two silver.
In the collision competition, Alexander Estrada won gold and teammate Joseph Fregoso won silver. In the refinishing class, Antonio Perez won gold and Alex Paz won silver.
Besides the medals, Warren says the students learn real world experience and actually work on cars, charging only for materials.
“This experience will help the students get a job, or at least their foot in the door,” said Warren. “They already have I-Car experience, which will definitely help them in a job search.”
The four students and Warren will be heading to Ontario in April to compete in a statewide competition, but before that they have a car show to put on.
It will take place on Saturday, March 16th. The “Rods & Mods” car show will be held at the high school starting at 10 am. It will be open to all vehicles and models, and the entry fee is $25. There will also be food available for purchase as well as live music with Southbound 33 performing.
“The first year of the show, we had about 75 cars entered,” Warren explained. “Last year it jumped to about 100 cars. All of the proceeds will go towards defraying the cost of attending these competitions.”
For more information, call Warren at 209-587-0813.
