{"id":32012,"date":"2025-06-23T15:22:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T15:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=32012"},"modified":"2025-06-23T15:22:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T15:22:27","slug":"oklahoma-celebrates-4-years-as-national-leader-in-aerospace-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/oklahoma\/oklahoma-celebrates-4-years-as-national-leader-in-aerospace-education\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Celebrates 4 Years as National Leader in Aerospace Education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo\u00a0above – L to R: Rep. Josh Cantrell, Kingston; Rep. Tammy Townley, Ardmore; Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics (ODAA) Executive Director Grayson Ardies; ODAA Statewide Aerospace STEM Education Manager Paula Kedy; and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Foundation Vice President Dan Justman announced Oklahoma has been named number one in the nation for the number of schools providing aerospace education with more than 144 schools participating for the 2025-2026 school year for the fourth consecutive year.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics (ODAA) is celebrating another year of leading the nation with the highest number of schools providing aerospace curriculum. More than 144 Oklahoma schools are slated to implement the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) \u201cYou Can Fly\u201d program across the state this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distinction was announced during the annual training of AOPA educators offered by the ODAA. The three-day summit featured AOPA curriculum training at Rose State College in Midwest City as well as a special session at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center which provided teachers with important information about the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement was made by Grayson Ardies, ODAA Executive Director and Dan Justman, AOPA Foundation Vice President, You Can Fly, at the annual celebratory banquet held on Tuesday, June 10 at Oklahoma City\u2019s Innovation Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor four years, Oklahoma\u2019s aerospace education program has dominated the industry, consistently growing year after year. We are committed to supporting that growth and will continue to support educators and schools that are working to build Oklahoma\u2019s aerospace workforce pipeline,\u201d said Ardies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oklahoma\u2019s aerospace and defense industries employ nearly 120,000 professionals, including engineers, technicians, mechanics, pilots and air traffic controllers. The state\u2019s education programs, particularly the AOPA \u201cYou Can Fly\u201d program, play a crucial role in preparing the next generation of aerospace professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the 2025-2026 school year, 144 schools across Oklahoma will teach the AOPA \u201cYou Can Fly\u201d program, up from 117 schools the previous year. This expansion represents more than 20% of all Oklahoma school districts, maintaining Oklahoma\u2019s position as the leading state in aerospace education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to be a part of Oklahoma\u2019s success,\u201d said AOPA\u2019s Justman. \u201cWe will continue to work with ODAA to expand the AOPA Foundation High School Aviation STEM Curriculum and open doors to aviation careers for young Oklahomans all over the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aerospace industry offers well-paid career opportunities, with the average annual salary of a direct employee in aerospace and aeronautics being $73,300. These high-paying jobs require various levels of education, from college degrees to certifications from Oklahoma\u2019s CareerTech centers, making the field accessible to a diverse workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oklahoma\u2019s continued leadership in aerospace education reflects the state\u2019s commitment to supporting its second-largest industry. By continuing to expand and promote aerospace programs, Oklahoma aims to further strengthen its position on a national stage and ensure long-term workforce success in the aerospace sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics and its education initiatives, please visit oklahoma.gov\/aerospace\/aero-education<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a list of participating schools, please click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo\u00a0above – L to R: Rep. Josh Cantrell, Kingston; Rep. Tammy Townley, Ardmore; Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics (ODAA) Executive Director Grayson Ardies; ODAA Statewide Aerospace STEM Education Manager Paula Kedy; and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Foundation Vice President Dan Justman announced Oklahoma has been named number one in the nation for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[144,98,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aerospace-education","category-aviation-education","category-oklahoma"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Celebrate-4-years-AVED.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32012","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=32012"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32014,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32012\/revisions\/32014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}