I'm starting an after school auto program for middle school students...any ideas?

If you can teach them to keep the tires properly inflaited you're helping LOL
Flaws in how people conduct themselves turn into costly repairs. examples;
A woman will grab her purse with the right hand and the tilt release lever with the left hand. A strong spring will return the steering wheel to its highest position like BAM!. Eventually this will pull the tilt knuckle in there apart.
Consider the McDonalds drive thru..
Run the power window down , place your order then run it up again. Drive to the first "pay for it here" stop and run the window down and up again. On the the "get your food" stop and repeat the window down and up one more time. See the wear going on there ?
If its too cold or raining, park the car and go inside is a better plan. Lets go ahead and spill a little soda or coffee in those switches too.
Grab a half dozen of those air freshener things and place them on the dash vent louvers. Bound to break something. Tailgate that big truck in front of you so the windshield gets a good sandblasting.
Shoving books, soda bottles etc.. under power seats can break things under there too. I've seen too much crap loaded in a glove box until something falls out and damages something behind there. Or the glove box lamp switch gets broken and tomorrows headache is a dead battery.
Turning the ignition switch off before the engine idles down to idle rpm isn't good. Adding 2 gallons of fuel a day to a nearly empty tank is adding more debrie to the fuel system along with wearing out the fuel door release, door parts, seat upholstery, etc..
I could go on all day. LOL
All these little things can keep maintance costs down and resale value up.
Automobiles are designed with a certain level of built in obsolesence.
First the ash tray door wont stay opened or closed, then a power window stops working, one direction of a power seat stops working and eventually there's more wrong that right with the car. Take care of the car and fix what breaks as it breaks.
How to work on a classic car wont help the majority of them at all.
Having a factory service manual might help them diagnose some of the problems encountered with the cars they will be driving but only if they can use a multimeter.