The American Airlines Pilot Recruiting and Development team\nis awarding Flight Education Grants to high schools across the country in an\neffort to increase and diversify the pilot population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 100 high schools applied, and 16 schools across\nthe country, as well as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), will\nreceive a total of $350,000 to help enhance aviation programs. Schools\nexclusively associated with AOPA\u2019s You Can Fly program were eligible to apply\nfor a grant. The organization\u2019s ultimate goal is to help make aviation\ncurriculum accessible and free to high school students across the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese Flight Education Grants help prepare our youth for\nfuture pilot careers,\u201d said Brad Morrison, Manager of Pilot Career Recruiting\nat American. \u201cThe schools that were selected have the most innovative ideas of\nhow to advance their aviation programs, and providing grants of up to $25,000\nto each school will give their students access to valuable curriculum to help\nthem develop into some of the best pilots in the industry. This will ultimately\nhelp fill the void in the not-so-distant future, as nearly half of the pilot\npopulation in the industry prepares to retire within the next 15 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, high schools submitted proposals detailing how\nthey plan to use the funds to further the mission of growing and diversifying\nthe pilot pool. The schools that were chosen had the most effective and\nforward-thinking strategies. For example, Corona High School in Corona,\nCalifornia, presented plans to use the funds to create a mobile virtual reality\nsimulator lab that will travel to the school district\u2019s elementary and middle\nschools. The goal is to provide a fun, interactive aviation experience for\nyounger students to get them excited about careers in aviation and potentially\ninterested in enrolling in the flight program at Corona High School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within the next couple of months, American will visit all of\nthe recipients to present a check for up to $25,000, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Winter Haven High School \u2014 Winter Haven, Florida<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Southwest ISD \u2014 San Antonio, Texas<\/p>\n\n\n\n
San Jacinto Valley Academy \u2014 San Jacinto, California<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Provine High School \u2014 Jackson, Mississippi<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McGavock High School \u2014 Nashville, Tennessee<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lyons Township High School \u2014 Western Springs, Illinois<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Karnes City High School \u2014 Karnes City, Texas<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hollenstein Career Tech Center \u2014 Fort Worth, Texas<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greenville Tech Charter High School \u2014 Greenville, South\nCarolina<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flabob Airport Prep Academy \u2014 Temecula, California<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Countryside Academy \u2014 Benton Harbor, Michigan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corona High School \u2014 Corona, California<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cascadia Tech \u2014 Vancouver, Washington<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Assumption High School \u2014 Louisville, Kentucky<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aspen High School \u2014 Aspen, Colorado<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anderson Prep Academy \u2014 Anderson, Indiana<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To date, American has awarded more than $1 million in Flight\nEducation Grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the demand for pilots continues to grow, American remains\ncommitted to addressing that demand by participating in various initiatives\nthat help inspire and encourage youth of all backgrounds to explore a career in\nthe flight deck. In addition to the Flight Education Grants awarded to high\nschools, American also launched its Cadet Academy in 2018. The Cadet Academy\nprovides an opportunity for future pilots to become first officers at one of\nAmerican\u2019s three wholly owned regional carriers, with a flow-through path to\nAmerican to continue their career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American is also involved in programs that focus on\nintroducing aviation and STEM to young girls. Girls Rock Wings, a program\ndeveloped by Sisters of the Skies, Inc., helps empower African American girls\nto think big and consider a career as a pilot or other aviation fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These and other initiatives are helping to develop the next generation\nof aviators, providing opportunities to youth who may not have considered, or\nhad the opportunity to explore a career in aviation otherwise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The American Airlines Pilot Recruiting and Development team is awarding Flight Education Grants to high schools across the country in an effort to increase and diversify the pilot population. More than 100 high schools applied, and 16 schools across the country, as well as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), will receive a total […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation-education"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14732"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14733,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14732\/revisions\/14733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}