REEDLEY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A new career training program in Reedley is giving high school students hands-on experience in the auto body and collision repair industry while helping prepare them for future careers in the skilled trades.
Inside a newly opened classroom near 13th and I streets, students enrolled in Valley ROP's Auto Body & Paint program are learning in a space that looks much more like a professional repair shop than a traditional classroom.
Instead of desks and chairs, the facility is equipped with workstations, tool cabinets and vehicles ready for repair.
"Sometimes we have wrecked vehicles they take apart and they're going to work on, so it just gives us more room to work on," said instructor Raymond Arteaga.
The classroom is located just a short walk from Arteaga's own auto body business, Darkside Kustomz. What began as a small after-school program meeting twice a week with only six or seven students has grown into a daily course serving more than two dozen students.
Many participants enter the program with little or no prior experience in auto body repair. Arteaga said instruction begins with the basics before progressing to more advanced skills.
"So we're teaching them how to take apart cars, and then we start teaching them the different materials, different bondos, fiberglass, different sandpapers, how a lot of the sanding tools work," Arteaga said.
Students come from 14 different high schools throughout the region, including five continuation schools. Most are transported to the site by bus from their home campuses, while some drive themselves.
Valley ROP Superintendent Fabrizio Lofaro said the program fills a unique gap in career technical education offerings across the Central Valley.
"This is the first auto body and paint program that is dedicated to collision and repair for high school students in the Central Valley," Lofaro said.
Interest in the program has been strong. According to Valley ROP, approximately 140 students applied for the inaugural class, but only 28 spots were available. Because of the limited capacity, seniors were given priority enrollment.
The course is designed to create a direct pathway into Fresno City College's Automotive Collision Repair Program and ultimately into careers within the automotive repair industry.
Lofaro said partnerships between education and industry are critical to the program's success.
"We can only be as successful as the industry and people passionate about this like Mr. Arteaga," Lofaro said. "And once those two kind of come together, then the sky is the limit."
For Arteaga, the opportunity to pass his knowledge along to younger generations is especially meaningful.
"The trades are still coming back," Arteaga said. "It's important to bring all these trades back because it was becoming a lost art."
Community members interested in learning more about the program will have an opportunity to visit the facility during its official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony, scheduled for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Reedley. It will be held at the shop located at 1810 13th St, Reedley, CA 93654.