Newgate School Celebrates 50 Years of Collision Repair Education Excellence
The Newgate School celebrated 50 years of providing tuition-free education to future collision repair professionals on August 2. The festivities included a car show, music, food trucks, and the community that makes the school’s existence possible.
Over the past five decades, more than 800 students have come through Newgate’s doors in Minneapolis and learned collision repair skills that become a foundation for their career pursuits.
“It’s something we’re really proud of. To hit this milestone is really big, and we’re really excited for the next 50 years,” said Tyla Pream, office manager at Newgate. “Since we get donations from public vehicles — being able to be sustained through that system of donated vehicles and selling those vehicles to fund everything — it’s very special to us to know we’re supported by the community.”
The celebration drew more than 150 people and 54 vehicles. The diverse setup included a 1960s Bel Air, Ford F-150s, Monte Carlos, Hondas, Corvettes, a Toyota MR2, and more. Face painting, artistry, food trucks, and music provided plenty of family-friendly fun. Vendor partners of the school, including PPG, were on hand to celebrate as well.
The school’s education is built on community buy-in and relies on donated vehicles from individuals and businesses to provide hands-on learning opportunities for its students, who pay no tuition or fees. Students work on the vehicles, fix them up, and then the school can sell the vehicles. They also have the “Wheels for Women” program, which provides the better-quality donated cars at no cost to single moms transitioning into school, work, and self-sufficiency.
Pream said most donations come from individuals. They call the school or find it online and bring their cars in. Others see technicians out in the shops working on their car.
“They’re seeing firsthand that their mechanic out in the world went to Newgate. Most of our donations come from referrals, so it's someone they know,” she said.
Donations have dropped in the past eight years. In 2017, the school received about 3,600 vehicles. In 2024, the school received just over 1,800 vehicle donations. Despite the decline in donations, it has not diminished the schools ability to continue developing its students. They learn the technical skills, work ethic, and confidence they’ll need to succeed, and become certified auto technicians in 12-18 months.
The school currently has 24 students enrolled – 12 auto body and 12 mechanical. Pream said the time it takes a student to complete the curriculum depends on what skills they have when they come to the school and how quickly they pick up what they’re taught.
“We help with them getting that toolkit and getting a job when they’re done,” Pream said. “We’re able to do a lot with just the vehicles that are donated.”
Ron Severson founded the school in the early 1970s in partnership with the University of Minnesota to help young adults in the area build better lives for themselves and their families through collision repair career opportunities. In 1975, the school was incorporated as a separate non-profit.
In 1979, Newgate purchased a garage in St. Paul and established the Auto Body Training Center, primarily serving young adults who had dropped out of school or were not succeeding in a traditional classroom setting.
Newgate pioneered its use of donated vehicles to fund school operations in 1981. In 1993, Newgate purchased its current property at 2900 East Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. The increased space enabled the school to add the auto mechanics program and double its student roster. The “Wheels for Women” campaign launched in 1996.
With the support of the community, Newgate School looks forward to another 50 years of tuition-free collision repair education.
“It’s a great little community that we have that people are willing to talk to us and donate their vehicle to us,” Pream said.
About the Author
Peter Spotts
Associate Editor
Peter Spotts is the associate editor of FenderBender and ABRN. He brings six years of experience working in the newspaper industry and four years editing in Tech. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Western New England University with a minor in integrated marketing communications and an MBA. A sci-fi/fantasy fan, his current 2010 Honda Civic is nicknamed Eskel, after the character from the Witcher book series, for the scratch marks on its hood.
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