The AOPA Foundation announced a $1 million donation from\nTextron Inc. in support of the AOPA You Can Fly initiative and its High School\nAviation STEM Curriculum. The gift will enable You Can Fly to further introduce\nhigh school students to rewarding career opportunities in aviation through the\nfree curriculum that will help ensure a bright future for general aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The You Can Fly High School Aviation STEM Curriculum\ncurrently engages more than 12,000 students in 44 states \u2013 in all four high\nschool grades. The unique program is positioned to address a well-documented\nand looming aviation workforce shortage in the United States Boeing Co. report\nsuggests a need for 612,000 new pilots and 626,000 new maintenance technicians\nover the next 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are grateful to our friends at Textron for their\ntremendous support as we work together to grow the general aviation community\nand help young people from all backgrounds discover the incredible\nopportunities available in aviation and aerospace,\u201d said Elizabeth Tennyson,\nsenior vice president of the AOPA Foundation and You Can Fly. \u201cThe You Can Fly\nHigh School Aviation STEM Curriculum is a true win-win: it addresses one of the\nmost pressing issues facing the entire aviation industry, and it puts high\nschool students on a solid track to rewarding careers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The gift was announced on behalf of Textron and its business\nunits by Scott C. Donnelly, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Textron Inc.\n \u201dAs a company with a long history in\naviation and a family of iconic aviation brands, we\u2019re very excited to be a\npart of the AOPA Foundation\u2019s You Can Fly program and expand its reach to even\nmore high school students across the country,\u201d Donnelly said. \u201cThis program is\na terrific way to encourage young people to learn more about aviation and\nexpose them to an array of career opportunities \u2013 whether as a pilot, an\nengineer or in aircraft operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first of its kind high school curriculum, including\ninstructional and assessment resources, is developed and continually enhanced\nby an expert team composed of veteran teachers, curriculum professionals,\npilots and flight instructors. The courses are designed to capture the\nimagination and give students from diverse backgrounds the tools to pursue\nadvanced education and careers in aviation fields. The curriculum, video-based\nprofessional development, and ongoing teacher and program support are provided\nto schools free of charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The program, launched nationwide in the 2017-2018 school\nyear, recently celebrated its first graduates, 58% of whom reported that they\nplan to pursue aviation-related careers in fields such as piloting, aerospace\nengineering, and maintenance. The You Can Fly team is especially proud that 40%\nof students in the program come from minority backgrounds, 21% are female, and\n54% attend mid-to-high-poverty schools. The initiative directly supports AOPA\u2019s\ngoal to increase inclusion in aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The High School STEM Curriculum is one pillar of You Can\nFly, whose mission is to get more pilots in the skies and keep them there\nsafely. You Can Fly also supports the\ndevelopment of flying clubs to keep flying accessible and affordable;\nencourages best practices in flight training; and helps lapsed pilots to get\nback in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You Can Fly is funded by charitable donations to the AOPA\nFoundation, a 501(c)(3) organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The AOPA Foundation announced a $1 million donation from Textron Inc. in support of the AOPA You Can Fly initiative and its High School Aviation STEM Curriculum. The gift will enable You Can Fly to further introduce high school students to rewarding career opportunities in aviation through the free curriculum that will help ensure a […]<\/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-22907","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\/22907","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=22907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22908,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22907\/revisions\/22908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}