Building a Scalable EV Program Through Student Engagement: How Friday Harbor Went Hands-On

Washington’s workforce needs are increasingly tied to STEM literacy and postsecondary credentials. ESD 112’s Career Connected Learning initiative reports that by 2030, more than 70% of high-demand, family-sustaining wage jobs in the state will require postsecondary credentials, and 68% will require postsecondary STEM credentials or foundational STEM literacy.

For Sam Garson, a STEM program teacher at Friday Harbor High School (FHHS), the discovery of an unused Switch Lab EV opened the door to a burgeoning electric vehicle program.

 

The Challenge: How to Make STEM Learning Applied, Visible, and Engaging

STEM education works when students are engaged, and teachers are prepared. More critically, Garson highlights the role of institutional knowledge: “We’re on a small island off the coast of Washington State.  When a teacher leaves, that institutional knowledge leaves with them.”

This is especially problematic for FHHS.  While mainland Washington State revamped its career and technical education (CTE) program by creating centralized “skill centers,” this approach wasn’t feasible for students on the island.  “Because we’re so small,” says Garson, “I teach 7-9 different classes.  I wasn’t looking for really heavy lifts to create all the content myself.”

The Switch Lab EV program enabled Garson to create an engaging, hands-on learning experience for students across multiple subject areas… without creating additional course content.

 

The Solution: Launch The Switch Lab EV Program

“I’m a biology teacher by trade,” says Garson.  “I taught in Seattle, went to work in deep-sea exploration, and then came to Friday Harbor High School.  I was teaching marine biology, and the principal approached me to teach STEM.” Garson wasn’t sure how to proceed until he found the Switch Lab EV DC/72v that the previous teacher had purchased and assembled in 2016.

The first step was taking it apart.  Garson says that when he first started, he constantly asked questions on the Switch Vehicles community forum.  “I got a call from the founder [Peter Oliver], and he was super helpful.  It’s not as intimidating as people make it out to be.  I was just reading out of a manual, but I was able to start rebuilding the entire STEM program.”

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.  Garson ran into some difficulty with the brakes, but this offered the opportunity to bring in local expertise.  “I reached out to our county and got a guy who does the fleet maintenance.  He walked the students through the brake process, bleeding the lines, etc.”

Once it was up and running, students were able to drive their white Switch Lab EV around campus at speeds up to 26 mph, proud in the knowledge they’d assembled, configured, and tested it themselves.

 

The Expansion: Moving to the Advanced Switch Lab EV Capstone

With one Switch Lab EV a huge success, Garson decided to expand the program.

“I went to Oregon 5 years ago,” he says, “and sat in on one of the Switch trainings.  I saw the new [advanced vehicle], and I started writing grant applications to the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).” Garson didn’t expect his $90,000 grant application to get the green light right away, but it did, and the school purchased a new purple Advanced model along with Relay Lab desktop projects for students to build.

This gave students two cars to assemble, and a new high-water mark for technology and performance.

“Seeing the lithium iron phosphate batteries, the motor controller, the programming side, and the Orion BMS, I realized there was a whole order of magnitude more [educational opportunities] we could pull into this project. “

Garson went on to express the breadth of subjects covered. “It was a great way to [roll] a bunch of different career pathways into one project, manageable [with] one teacher.”

Local coverage from OPALCO reinforces the same point: Friday Harbor students were not passive participants. They took responsibility for programming, electrical work, mechanical work, and project execution as part of the EV Principles course.

 

The Results: Increased Student Engagement and Program Visibility

For Garson and Friday Harbor High School, the Switch Lab EV program did more than create a hands-on class project. It gave students a visible outcome they could build, test, drive, and share with the broader school community.

That engagement became even more powerful once students had the opportunity to showcase their work. Garson connected with Green River College and Bellingham High School to organize a unique field trip experience, giving students a chance to test their vehicles, visit a post-secondary campus, and see their work in a larger educational context.

“I got in touch with Green River College and Bellingham High School,” he says.  “We set up a track day….  Though we kept the cars set to 30% of maximum power.”

Not surprisingly, teachers and students had a great time, and Garson plans to hold the event annually.  The results were two-fold.  Students showcased their skills, got the chance to visit and explore Green River College, and the FHHS STEM program received visibility to help drive ongoing community support.

 

Why It Matters: The Case for Comprehensive, Scalable, and Repeatable STEM Classes

Every student learns differently.  Reusable and scalable programs like the Switch Lab EV offer something for everyone.

“Starting with the 72v was awesome,” says Garson.  “The previous director bought it 12 years ago, built it with 8th graders, and then left it assembled.  I had three students who had nothing to do.  They had taken all the classes they could take.  I printed out the manual for them, and the kids were diagnosing and troubleshooting for weeks.  They took the whole vehicle apart to get it working again and discovered that one of the wires on the big red button wasn’t properly seated.  Once it was fixed, they were able to drive it again.”

“We also have students who prefer diesel and gas cars,” he says.  “After they went hands-on, these kids were getting excited about EV technology.  And we had a group of kids taking the class because it fit in their schedule.  They put together social media posts for the program — it was something accidental, but we will absolutely keep it.”

That response reflects a broader principle in career and technical education: students are more likely to engage when they can see the purpose and utility of what they are learning.  CAST’s guidance for CTE engagement recommends emphasizing application and designing activities that foster creativity, self-reflection, and active participation.  Friday Harbor’s EV Principles class put that idea into practice by giving students visible, hands-on roles in a real technical vehicle build.

The Switch Lab EV also sets the stage for the long-term success of STEM programs.  “It’s not just auto teachers that can have success with this,” notes Garson.  “On the admin side, you’re not going to find anything that’s as diverse and flexible as this platform.  What happens if a teacher leaves? The Switch Lab EV can be plugged into new classes with new teachers.”

For Garson and the students at Friday Harbor High School, Switch Lab EVs were the perfect starting point for comprehensive, scalable, and repeatable STEM classes to drive student engagement and deliver long-term ROI.

 

 

See how Switch Lab EVs can help your school build hands-on STEM programming. Let’s talk.