RFSD, CMC launch automotive tech center in Glenwood | News


Basalt High School student Henry Hendrix cuts the ribbon on the new Automotive Technology Center in Glenwood Springs on Wednesday. The workshop and accompanying coursework is a collaboration between the Roaring Fork School District and Colorado Mountain College.
For the first time in about two decades, Roaring Fork School District students will be tackling automobile issues in a state-of-the-art space.
On Wednesday afternoon, across from the 27th Street Station in Glenwood Springs, RFSD and Colorado Mountain College unveiled their latest collaboration, an automotive technology center that will serve high school students concurrently enrolled in the college and give students hands-on technical experience.
“This project is more than just a facility — it’s a long-term investment in our students and in our community,” CMC President Matt Gianneschi said. “Across Colorado mountain towns, employers rely on skilled tradespeople. … Programs look at workforce shortages and ensure that locals have pathways to sustainable-wage careers in rural Colorado.”
The space includes two rotary lifts and another drive-on lifted ramp, plus a row of workbenches and stations. It included a fresh coat of paint, some bright new lights and some fresh tools, all part of a $300,000 expenditure.
It marked the latest efforts of both institutions to create career technical education opportunities, specifically in trades that have local opportunities with competitive wages.
“All these investments really demonstrate our belief that our students deserve modern, well-equipped learning spaces that really prepare them to thrive,” RFSD Superintendent Anna Cole said. “We can’t do any of this on our own and partnerships with CMC is absolutely a model for how we can make sure kids have access to experiences and learning opportunities beyond what we can do in our very small schools.”

Colorado Mountain College President Matt Gianneschi speaks on Wednesday.
For high school students, they’ll be able to ratchet away on their own personal cars or family cars for the time being, working a curriculum that is designed to prepare them for certification testing. The course focuses on areas like brakes, engines, electrical systems, HVAC and steering and suspension. It’s structured to be 20% in the classroom and 80% in the lab/bay area. It is being taught by Clay Allison.
The students also receive college credits for the work which for now serves as a jumpstart to potential degrees, but in the future could be fully developed for an associate’s degree in automotive service technology.
Uriel Mellin, a student at Glenwood Springs High School, said the course will help him with his personal project car, a ’67 Camaro.
“I’ve always liked cars — looking at cars, working on cars,” Mellin said. “I really want to do this as a hobby, like something I do on the side. This class is kind of like giving me the tools to make sure I know what I’m doing.”
A total of 51 students enrolled from across the RFSD footprint from GSHS to Basalt High School, including four students from Yampah Mountain School in Glenwood.

Glenwood Springs High School student Uriel Mellin changes a tire in the new Automotive Technology Center in Glenwood Springs on Wednesday.
The same space was used around two decades ago for a similar course, but for a reason unknown to current RFSD administration, fizzled out around 2005. For the next 20 years the space was used for district maintenance and things like storage.
RFSD personnel said that a father took the class in the same workshop around 30 years ago, and now his son is learning the same tools in the same revitalized space.
In the future, the center is hoping to expand its work to the vehicles of third-party clients, strengthen partnerships with local employers like Aspen Skiing Co. and the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, and even add the capability to work on electric vehicles if it can secure grants — and a donated vehicle.
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