CCIC Teacher Mike Degitis wins Prize for Teaching Excellence

Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC) teacher was surprised on Tuesday with a national $100,000 prize recognizing excellence in skilled trades education. Mike Degitis who teaches infrastructure engineering and construction, is one of 25 winners of the 2024 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. The school’s skilled trades program will receive $70,000, and Degitis will receive $30,000.

In Degitis’ classroom, learning begins with addressing a real-life challenge, such as proposing a solution for the unhoused in Denver. For the past five years, students built five tiny homes a year at material cost for a village in Downtown Denver, which provides housing and wraparound services such as career counseling and mental healthcare. Now students plan to build a double wide trailer for the unhoused in partnership with Habitat for Humanity in Berthed, Colorado.  Read the rest of the story on cherry creek schools.org site