PAYETTE — Payette High teacher Tyson Smith escorted his class to an evacuation drill Tuesday morning, thinking little of it. That was until he arrived in front of the school’s career-training education building, where a surprise ceremony in his honor was about to occur. 

“I was completely surprised,” he said. 

Tyson Smith, an agricultural welding teacher, has been teaching for 20 years. Earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho, and inspired by his past educators, he returned to his alma mater high school to guide the next generation. 

His dedication to teaching did not go unnoticed, as Smith was one of 25 teachers across the nation to receive the 2026 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools award, winning $75,000 to put toward his CTE program.

Harbor Freight Tools for Schools awards money to CTE teachers across America that exhibit excellence in education. Since 2017, over $10 million dollars has been given to 180 CTE teachers and their programs. 

This year there were 569 applications from 49 states, according to Ashley Bennett, Regional Manager at Harbour Freight Tools. In total, Harbor Freight Tools will be giving $2 million to teachers all over America. 

After a rigorous, months-long application process, including three rounds of judging by experts from education, industry, nonprofits, and philanthropy, Smith is the only teacher in Idaho to receive the 2026 award and the second teacher to receive the award in Idaho since 2017. 

Students surrounded the CTE building Tuesday morning with pom-poms and signs reading “best teacher ever.” After Smith was presented with the $75,000 check, cheers erupted. Students yelled “I love you Mr. Smith!”

Smith expressed his immense gratitude to his school and community.

“This moment’s huge,” Smith said. “As a teacher, I don’t look at needing to get something back; the reward for me is more watching my students succeed, but this is phenomenal and will allow my students to upgrade equipment.”

Smith said that he wants to buy new machinery to update his curriculum for modern industry standards with the prize money.

“I know that we’re gonna upgrade our CNC plasma cutter to get some of the older technology out of there and introduce laser welding to Payette High School,” he said. “I think this will be an excellent opportunity to see what my kids can do with these new tools and equipment.”

Smith acknowledged how important it is for communities to invest in career trade education, especially with the growing adoption of AI in skilled trades.

“I think that trades and industry…while they may utilize some of that AI technology, It still hasn’t replaced hands-on [work].”

Smith’s Wife, Amanda Smith, is a district administrator at Payette schools. She found out about the award ceremony early Tuesday morning and surprised her husband with flowers.

“He dedicates a lot of time and energy to the kids,” Amanda Smith said. “I’m just so proud of the work that he’s done and the work he continues to do for our school and our community, and the generations of kids that he’s already taught to be excellent craftsmen and welders, and that he’ll continue teaching.”

Smith’s agricultural welding teacher from when he was a student at Payette, Keith Hyatt, also attended the ceremony. Hyatt taught at Payette High from 1976 to 2002 and had Smith in his classes for four years.

Smith was choked up talking about his former educator. He said Hyatt was integral to building his passion for agricultural welding education.

“Mr. Hyatt was my ag teacher, and he’s the reason that I went into ag education so it means a lot seeing him here,” Smith said. “I hope that I have students that feel that passion about it and have that relationship with me later on in life.”

Hyatt said that one of Smith’s greatest strengths as a teacher is his ability to connect with and see the potential in every student.

“He works well with all kinds of students, but the kids that need somebody to hang on to, he’s the guy they hang on to,” Hyatt said. “Kids that don’t identify with a program or a teacher will always identify with him.”

Hyatt knows Smith does a great job at preparing the next generation of welders. “I’m very proud of him…this is quite a deal for Tyson,” he said.

After the ceremony, some of Smith’s students celebrated with him. Sophomore Carlie Gepford has been taking Smith’s classes since she started high school. She is currently in Welding 2. 

“He pushes us unlike any other teachers,” Gepford said. “I think he’s one of the best teachers at the school, [the award was] definitely, definitely deserved.”

Kaitlyn McCormack is a freelance reporter for Idaho Education News. She is based in Mountain Home.