Merced County teacher earns $50,000 prize for school programs. Here’s why
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- Shelby Fishman won a 2025 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools $50,000 prize.
- Fishman expanded certifications, enrollment and female participation in small engines.
- Atwater High will use the funds to upgrade student tool kits and shop projects.
It was a typical morning for Shelby Fishman, a teacher at Atwater High School.
That was until third period, when administrators pulled students out of her Agriculture Mechanics shop class.
She suspected, “something’s happening.”
Fishman was right.
Moments later, she was called over the intercom to take the stage in the school’s main courtyard. There she saw her husband, daughters, and parents waiting for her by the stage, which was decorated with large floral arrangements and blue and white balloons.
Students, staff, and other teachers poured out of classrooms as Fishman was named one of 25 winners of the 2025 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence.
Atwater High will receive $50,000 to upgrade student tool kits and invest in projects for the advanced small engines class.
Fishman, 37, stood surrounded by her students, holding an oversized novelty check in one hand and her younger daughter in the other.
She described the scene as “surreal” because “a lot of what teachers do goes unrecognized.”
That was not the case on Tuesday as students and colleagues celebrated her.
“I think she’s done a great job,” said Dave Gossman, another agriculture teacher and the department chair. “She’s passionate about shop classes [and]...she earns the respect of the students.”
Fishman began teaching the small engines pathway at Atwater High in 2013. The program has grown significantly under her leadership. Each student in the program receives at least one industry certification though many gain more certifications before graduation . The number of girls in the program has also increased from 16% from 4%.
Fishman grew up in Turlock and earned an A.S. in Agriculture Science from Merced College, followed by a B.S. in Agriculture Science with an emphasis in Agricultural Education from CSU, Chico. She is currently working toward a master’s degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo focused on high-quality, hands-on education in skilled trades.
She originally planned to teach shop classes focused on other technical skills, but when she started at Atwater High, the school needed a small engine teacher. The school asked if she could jump in, Fishman said she “learned and…loved it because it’s like a puzzle…and people just don’t know that because they don’t think they can.”
In addition to teaching, Fishman advises Atwater’s FFA program and is a coach for the school’s FFA Career Development Event teams.
“My number one thing that I connect with here is building rapport with students,” Fishman said, adding that many former students return to help in the shop as teaching assistants and mentor others.“I have more TAs than a teacher should,” she said.
“There’s something about Valley kids,” she added, “They appreciate new experiences and generally feel excited.” Fishman briefly taught in Northern California but said she quickly came back to the Central Valley and prefers teaching here.
Harbor Freight Tools for Schools began issuing the Teaching Excellence award in 2017.
According to Blaire Ginsburg, program & communications coordinator for Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, the program looks for “teachers who are getting students invested in and trained in hands-on work.”
“A lot of the time, especially in these skilled trades programs, the teachers are the ones who really make the class what it is,” Ginsburg said, “They set the tone. They create investment from the students. They make connections with the students.”
One way that Fishman builds investment in her classroom is to have students bring in their own engine projects including old lawn mowers, pressure washers, and other engines that need repair. She explained that students are more invested in the final project when they feel ownership of it and take it home at the end of the class.
Alex Belmontez, an Atwater High senior who has been in the program for three years, has spent the beginning of this school year repairing his go-kart.
“I’ve also fixed pressure washers that are all small engines…[and] worked with my friends on their … mini bikes and all that other stuff,” he said, “At first I had no clue what I was doing…but now that I’ve really been through a class, I feel like I can.”
“I plan to look into mechanical work,” Belmontez said about his plans after high school. He said he likes knowing that when you fix someone’s engine “you save their day.”
Fishman said she thinks taking agricultural classes is beneficial to students no matter what they plan to do next. She described the school’s “three ring model” where students are engaged in classroom learning, supervised agricultural experiences, and Future Farmers of America which teaches leadership skills, as beneficial for all students and an opportunity for them to travel to competitions and see more of California than they might otherwise.
This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 12:13 PM.
