Image: AOPA
AOPA has developed a curriculum for ninth-grade students that uses aviation to teach science, technology, engineering and math, and is offering it free to schoolteachers. Teachers will be introduced to the program through a professional development workshop offered June 26 to 28, which can be attended at AOPA headquarters in Frederick, Maryland, or taken online. The course has been tested with more than 700 students in nearly 30 schools over the last year, AOPA says. The program includes lesson plans, presentations, assignments, student activities and other learning experiences. The deadline for applying to use the aviation STEM curriculum during the 2018-19 school year is April 19.
The ninth-grade curriculum is the first in a four-year program that will comprise three career and technical education pathways — pilot, aerospace engineering and drones. The 10th-grade program will be available next year, and the 11th- and 12th-grade programs will follow in the next two years. Schools can decide to select individual courses to use as stand-alone electives, or implement one or more complete pathways. “This is a major step in our work to help young people learn more about the engaging and well-paying careers in aviation, and it gives schools the tools they need to teach our children skills that will last for a lifetime,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. The program is funded by the AOPA Foundation.
