Dealership donates car, training opportunities for students to Woodstock High School

A 2010 Ford Fiesta donated by a local dealership with give Woodstock High School students a chance to practice tire rotations, oil changes, spark plug inspection and other maintenance, Woodstock School District 200 said in a news release.

“Kids are going to love it,” Woodstock High School auto teacher Brandon Spiller said of the vehicle. It’s our newest car by far, and it’s probably our best running car, so that will be a great upgrade for us. This will be a great car for us for hands-on instruction with newer technology in the shop.”

The donation comes as the high school strikes up a new partnership with Bull Valley Ford car dealership and Ford Motor Company.

Ford Motor Company has an initiative to get local car dealers involved with schools in their local community, Jason Gomez, regional technical talent placement specialist with Ford Motor Company, said in the release.

And so Rick Gerardi, parts and services coordinator at Bull Valley Ford, suggested working with Woodstock High School and subsequently connected with auto teacher Brandon Spiller to start an automotive career exploration program.

“What it does is allow the students at Woodstock to have access to our online training. It’s the same training that his technicians get in the shop,” Gomez said in the release.

Students can print out certifications after they finish different sections of the training. They can then work for Bull Valley Ford, which can transfer the credit for the training, or put the certificates on their resumes if they want to go into the auto industry elsewhere.

“This gave us the opportunity for kids to go to the next level of training,” Geradi said.

Gerardi said he has had some Woodstock High School students work part-time, but COVID-19 has slowed things down a bit. He said he hopes to build the partnership further and is willing to come to classes to talk to students about the auto industry.