The transition into teaching may be hard, but new teacher Chris Collins seems to have it down right. After the previous automotives technologies teacher [Elizabeth Crooks] left a vacancy in the department, Collins started teaching at Manhattan High School at the turn of a new semester. He has a background as an automotive technician, working in various shops in the area.

“I am a GM [General Motors] certified technician,” Collins said. “I just recently left the Jon Murdock Chevrolet — right here on McCall Road — I was one of their heavy technicians there; meaning I did complete engine tear downs and transmissions, and an all around technician, [I was there] just over a year. Prior to that, I was at Briggs GMC for four years, and prior to that I owned my own business. I owned a tow truck and did mobile auto repair in Hawaii.”

The students are benefiting from having an instructor with an automotive background.

“[Collins is] pretty knowledgeable,” senior Bradley Malmquist said. “That’s pretty helpful. He also has connections with where he has worked in the past. That comes in handy as well.”

Having a background in automotives has allowed him to teach at Manhattan High.

“He is certified because business and industry can teach in our trade and he has the ASE [Automotive Service Excellence] certification, and he is on the provisional teaching certification,” Deb Kidd, Career and Technical Education [CTE] Coordinator, said.  

Once Collins was hired, he spent numerous hours over break redesigning and reorganizing the automotive shop.

“In the new shop all of the tools are much more organized, in specific cabinets, for each different section, as in the things you might be working on — as in the suspensions or the brakes that’s all out together,” Malmquist said.

With Collins coming in as a new teacher, the CTE department and the administrative body decided it was time for the Automotive program to change. They have decided to align the program along side Manhattan Area Technical College [MATC] to teach classes concurrently with their program.

“We are changing the format, what we are doing is aligning the courses to be taught concurrently with MATC,” Collins said. “We are actually using the same textbooks that MATC, so that when students — if they want to go on to MATC —  it will be a much smoother transition for them. And again, they’re getting college credit through the high school. It’s totally a redesigned curriculum.”

With the redesign of the program, Manhattan High will no longer offer year long classes. Instead there will be semester classes.

In addition to the redesign of the program, Collins also is working to get the shop certified.

“We are going to do the National Association for Technician Education Foundation [NATEF] certification, not we are going to try and get it,” Collins said. “We are going to get it.”