Farmington Police Department recently donated 20 bikes to Aztec High School’s bicycle maintenance class.

The bikes were donated to the police department by Walmart and Target over the past several years. The donated bikes had been returned to the stores and were in need of various levels of repair.

According to FPD spokeswoman Shanice Gonzales, the bikes were donated to the department for use at events such as National Night Out, where officers might give out bikes to area youths. Because these bikes were in need of repair, they were donated to the high school’s program.

The bicycle maintenance program at Aztec High School was established in November 2022 in partnership with Bike Tech in School, a division of Project Bike Tech. The nonprofit organization’s program teaches students skills necessary to work as a professional bicycle mechanic. The knowledge students gain also serves as a foundation for careers such as fabrication and engineering, marketing and publications, and even writing for bicycle-related publications.

The Bike Tech in School program has developed a standards-based curriculum on the mechanics of the bicycle that is provided in a hands-on, multisensory learning environment. The curriculum provides full lessons plans that support CORE and STEM requirements, as well as Career and Technical Education requirements.

The program also focus on improving personal health and safety through participating in biking activities and creating a sense of environmental stewardship so biking areas are cared for and preserved for others. It also promotes cycling as a form of sustainable transportation and a lifelong recreational activity.

Students who complete the program earn two certificates, a Bike Safety Certification and a Bike Technology: Level 1 certificate, which is endorsed many organizations in the bicycle industry.

Because the Bike Tech in Schools curriculum is standardized and supported by the cycling industry, it instills confidence in potential employers that students are capable of entering the bicycle maintenance and repair industry with the skills necessary for an entry-level position.

According to Aztec Municipal Schools Career and Technical Education Director Cory Gropp, the program at AHS is funded by a New Mexico Public Education Department Outdoor Learning grant. The grant awarded was in the amount of $30,000.

AHS teacher Robert Henderson led the effort to apply for the grant and get the program started. He is also the main instructor for the program, which pairs well with other technical classes he teaches such as construction and engineering.

Students in the Bike Tech program learn bike safety and how to service bicycles, such as the ones donated by FPD. Gropp said students in the program will also use the bikes they work on as members of the school’s National Interscholastic Cycling Association mountain bike team. The newly formed team is also funded by the NMPED Outdoor Learning grant award.

This will be the team’s first year of competition, and they are seeking coaching staff. The teams plans to compete in events in such as the Alien Run Mountain Bike Race in May. They will also compete in events against schools and private clubs in Albuquerque and southern Colorado.

Gropp said there is a great interest in outdoor recreation locally and this program is a way to allow students to not only participate in mountain biking but to also learn the skills needed to work in the industry and help build up outdoor recreation in their community.