SANBORN, New York—Scott Brauer, a Manufacturing teacher from Sanborn, New York, has been named a winner of the 2025 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, winning $15,000 for himself and $35,000 for his school’s program.
Brauer, who teaches at Niagara Career and Technical Education Center, is one of 25 public high school skilled trades teachers across the United States who were surprised with the news that they had won. A total of $1.5 million in cash prizes were awarded today.
“When we teach each student as an individual, we send a powerful message: You matter, your learning matters, I see you, and I care about your success,” Brauer wrote in his prize application.
- Brauer’s students engage in CNC machining, CAD/CAM design, additive manufacturing, and precision engineering, with projects grounded in real-world applications.
- Over the last 28 years the graduation rate for students from Brauer’s program is over 98 percent, and roughly 85 percent of these graduates have obtained at least one industry certification over multiple platforms.
- Brauer’s students are strong competitors in both New York State and national SkillsUSA competitions, winning competitions in manufacturing, machining, engineering, and technical drafting.
- Brauer takes advantage of manufacturer-led training programs from companies like Haas, MasterCam, and Autodesk to keep his skills current with the tools and systems used in today’s workforce.
The winners teach a variety of skilled trades, including construction, carpentry, welding, automotive, agricultural mechanics, advanced manufacturing, and industrial technology.
The prize, now in its ninth year, was created to recognize excellent high school skilled trades teachers, a group of educators who are frequently overlooked and underappreciated. As of today, over $10 million has been awarded to more than 180 teachers and their programs through the prize. The mission of Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is to increase understanding, support and investment in skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools.
This year there are winners from 18 states, including: Arizona, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. A full list of winners is here.
The Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence was started in 2017 by Eric Smidt, owner and founder of Harbor Freight Tools.
“In recent years we have seen growing support for the expansion of skilled trades education in high schools,” Smidt said. “The skilled trades are experiencing significant labor shortages and these outstanding teachers are leading the way in developing a new generation of skilled trades professionals.”
“Through a rigorous application process, our prizewinners shared their unique depth of experience and skill for teaching the skilled trades,” said Danny Corwin, executive director of Harbor Freight Tools for Schools. In addition to the cash awards, they will join a network of more than 150 previous winners working to help boost skilled trades education in their local communities and nationally.
This year there were more than 1,000 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.
About Harbor Freight Tools for Schools
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is a program of The Smidt Foundation, established by Harbor Freight Tools owner and founder Eric Smidt, to advance excellent skilled trades education in U.S. public high schools. With a deep respect for the dignity of these fields and for the intelligence and creativity of people who work with their hands, Harbor Freight Tools for Schools aims to drive a greater understanding of and investment in skilled trades education, believing that access to quality skilled trades education gives high school students pathways to graduation, opportunity, good jobs and a workforce our country needs. Harbor Freight Tools is a major supporter of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools program. For more information, visit: HFTforschools.org