Enriching Education - Aviation

 We all want our kids to take flight as they grow. At three western Pennsylvania school districts, that statement has become far more than metaphor.

In the Pittsburgh area, where flying has a rich and deep history, a small but growing number of schools have made the decision to introduce teenagers to aerospace-related careers, responsive to a growing shortage of skilled aviation workers. 

 

Consider an interview with educators within the Carlynton, Avonworth, Greater Latrobe and Northgate school districts who will be teaching some new skills this fall: Piloting drones. Racking up hours at the controls of small aircraft. Exploring the principles of flight and understanding what makes the modern aviation industry tick. 

 

At Greater Latrobe, the district’s philosophy is utterly exportable when it comes to aviation programs and preparing kids for possible careers: “You can’t be what you can’t see,” according to Jessica Yetter, the district’s career pathways coordinator. “We try to give kids as many opportunities as possible,” Yetter says. “You have to expose them at an early age to what the possibilities are.”

 

At Carlynton, students don’t just learn about drones; they fly them and are educated in FAA guidelines. In more advanced classes, they can design their own drones and see how different sectors — agriculture, environmental science, emergency services, and the media — use the devices to go where humans cannot. A bonus: If you pass both courses and the FAA exam, you can become a licensed drone pilot and find professional work.

 

At Avonworth, middle-school students can learn instrument panels and even learn to fly planes from within a Red Bird “Jay Velocity” simulator.

 

While it might seem extraordinary that kids as young as middle schoolers are learning aviation, Avonworth aviation teacher Nicole Findon, who is a licensed drone pilot,  sees it as natural. In fact, every middle-schooler will soon take the aviation class in a rotation with subjects like art, music, and physical education.

 

To see how aviation immersion can work for students, look no further than Greater Latrobe, a Westmoreland County school district that has a commercial airport in its own community. Named after Arnold Palmer, a favorite son most famous for sending golf balls airborne, the airport is the perfect place for students to discover the thrill of flight.

 

Greater Latrobe’s junior high school features an enrichment period called “Wildcat Time,” which includes the opportunity to get experience in the “Wildcat Drone Zone,” says science teacher A.J. Haberkorn.

 

The district has added Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association curriculum aviation classes at the high school level, which are also used at South Allegheny and Purchase Line.

 

All of these districts belong to Future-Driven Schools, a regional alliance of school districts working to prepare every learner for tomorrow which is supported by The Grable Foundation, which helps districts share and scale these ideas and has helped to purchase flight simulators.

Partnerships are key to this work. Greater Latrobe, for example, has a partnership with the Civil Air Patrol, which provides kits to educators that include drones, model rockets, and flight simulators. Add a community grant from General Dynamics that paid for a drone simulator and a large Promethean board, and you have conditions that are ideal for an all-out effort to teach students about flight.

 

These teachers have joined a long line of people who looked to the skies, saw possibilities, and wondered: Where might we boldly go if we could take flight?