Chickasaw High Teacher Wins $50,000 National Prize for Teaching Excellence
Chickasaw High teacher Brian Copes won a $50,000 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools prize for his skilled trades program and student prosthetics work.
A Chickasaw High School teacher has won a $50,000 prize in a national contest recognizing outstanding skilled trades educators.
Brian Copes, who teaches architecture, construction and manufacturing at the school, was surprised with the award Thursday morning during a school assembly. The honor comes through the annual Harbor Freight Tools for Schools contest, which distributes more than $1 million to 18 outstanding skilled trades teachers and teacher teams at public high schools nationwide.
Chickasaw High was one of only two Alabama schools to win this year. Of the $50,000 prize, $35,000 will go to the school’s skilled trades program and $15,000 to Copes himself.
Copes entered the contest to showcase work his students have done building prosthetics for people in Honduras. He said the recognition is really about his students’ efforts.
Students praised the win, including 11th grader Amoriey Davis-Hicks, who described Copes as one of her favorite teachers and said he always finds a way to help students work through difficult problems.
About the prize
The Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence was founded in 2017. It is funded by Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, a program of The Smidt Foundation, which was established by Harbor Freight Tools owner and founder Eric Smidt.
