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On Tuesday evening during a four-day training conference,\nteachers and industry leaders met at OU\u2019s National Weather Center to celebrate\nthe growth of aviation and aerospace education in the state, and to discuss\nways to partner in the building of programs that will ensure the growth of\nOklahoma\u2019s aviation, aerospace and defense industry workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oklahoma Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell announced from the stage\nthat Oklahoma is first in the nation for the number of schools approved to\nteach the AOPA high school aviation curriculum starting this fall. With AOPA\nPresident and CEO Mark Baker and the State Director of Aeronautics Grayson\nArdies flanking the stage, AOPA and Oklahoma Aeronautics confirmed that the 58\nschool districts across the state signed onto the program moved the Sooner\nState into first place in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to make Oklahoma a Top Ten state in every category\nand I am so proud that Oklahoma is ranked first in the nation for high schools\nteaching the AOPA curriculum,\u201d said Governor Kevin Stitt. \u201cThanks to innovative\nleadership and the work of Oklahoma Aeronautics, we are helping young people\nfind a passion for aviation and aerospace. As a pilot, I am excited to see what\nthe future brings for the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission and the aerospace\nindustry in our state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the school districts are geographically located in\nrural areas and are readying themselves to implement the curriculum next\nfall. AOPA\u2019s You Can Fly initiative is\nall about building the aviation community, getting more people into the skies,\nand keeping them there. The centerpiece of You Can Fly is the unique and free\nHigh School STEM Curriculum, ensuring that all of aviation has a bright future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom CareerTech certifications to a dozen collegiate\nprograms, Oklahoma has led the way in aerospace education for decades. The\nimplementation of AOPA Aviation Curriculum in high schools across the state\nmarks the next milestone in growing aerospace talent in Oklahoma. The aerospace\nindustry employs more than 120,000 Oklahomans, and our continued investment in\neducation will lead to more high-paying jobs in our state,\u201d said Lt. Gov. Matt\nPinnell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You Can Fly plays a vital role in helping to ensure the health\nof aviation, as the nation faces a looming shortage of pilots and aviation\nprofessionals. The latest Boeing Commercial Outlook calls for the need for more\nthan 600,000 pilots and aviation technicians over the next 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past school year, more than 12,000 students in 1,000\nclassrooms across the country, in all four grades, took the curriculum and\nlearned about exciting opportunities in aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m most proud that 49% of the students in our High School\nprogram come from minority backgrounds, and 21% are female. We need more\ninclusion in aviation,\u201d said Baker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The program is beginning to see real dividends as among its\nfirst set of graduates, 58% are pursuing aviation-related careers (including\n87% attending college, trade, or technical school).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To support the program, in late 2021 the Commission took on\nthe monumental task to apply for a Workforce Development Grant funded by the\nFederal Aviation Administration to add support for the implementation of the\nAOPA program. Staff is working with those 58 schools to distribute FAA funds\ndirectly toward classroom supplies. One foundational aspect of receiving the\nFAA grant was to name five Oklahoma high schools as \u201cAviation High Schools of\nExcellence\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The five schools recognized by the legislature during the\n2022 legislative session were Ada High School, McAlester High School, Mustang\nHigh School, Okmulgee High School, and Pryor High School. They were early\nadopters of the AOPA program and will serve as mentors for new Oklahoma high\nschools implementing the AOPA curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To further advance the program, Sen. Zack Taylor,\nR-Seminole, and Nicole Miller, R-Edmond, filed Senate Bill 1147 which Gov.\nStitt signed into law to direct the State Board of Education to help ensure\naviation courses are eligible for non-elective academic credit toward meeting\nOklahoma\u2019s graduation requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ardies said, \u201cOklahoma has a strong commitment to implement\neducational programming to address aviation, aerospace and defense workforce\nneeds. Many in the industry have called for aviation-focused, primary-level\neducation curriculum to get students started on an early flight plan for\njoining the aviation or aerospace career field. Number one in the Nation is\ngreat, but we are just starting to spread our wings and take flight.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
List of Oklahoma School Districts teaching AOPA “You\nCan Fly” in FY2022-2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ada High School and Junior High<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Altus High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alva High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ardmore High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Atoka High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bartlesville High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Battiest High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bristow High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Byng High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Charles Page High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chelsea High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chisholm High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Davenport High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deer Creek High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drumright Public Schools<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Duncan High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Durant High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Educators for Christian Homeschoolers of OK (ECHO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elmore City Pernell High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enid High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fort Cobb Broxton<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frederick High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grandfield High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Great Plains Technology Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ketchum High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kingfisher High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawton High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Madill High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marietta High school<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McAlester High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mustang High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norman High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norman North High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oilton High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oklahoma Fine Arts and Science Academy WHHS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Okmulgee High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Owasso High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paoli Public School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pauls Valley High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Piedmont High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ponca City High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poteau High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pawhuska High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pryor High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putnam City North High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seminole High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sequoyah High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shawnee High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tri County Tech<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tulsa Technology Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Washington High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wayne High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weatherford High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wewoka High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wyandotte School District 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wynnewood High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yukon High School<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a four-day AOPA You Can Fly conference in Norman this\nweek, teachers enjoyed discovery flights provided by the OU School of Aviation\nStudies. Pinnell announced Oklahoma’s #1 ranking at a banquet in their honor\nTuesday night. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
While commercial runways were nearly vacant during the early days of the pandemic of 2020-2021, staff from the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission were knocking on the doors of high school superintendents and school counselors across Oklahoma\u2019s 77 counties, asking if they could visit about an emerging aviation curriculum available to their students. Oklahoma Aeronautics has advocated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-education","category-oklahoma"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/AOPA-Edcuators-Class-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22764","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=22764"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22770,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22764\/revisions\/22770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}