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News & Media You Can Fly

Ensuring GA’s future

Help bring aviation STEM education to your school

June 30, 2023

By Glenn Ponas

The AOPA Foundation’s High School Aviation STEM curriculum, part of the You Can Fly High School Initiative, is available free to public, private, parochial, and charter high schools and career and technical centers across the United States.

Annual symposium set for November

The AOPA Foundation High School Aviation STEM Symposium 2023 is planned for November 12 through 14 in Orlando, Florida. For more information, contact the AOPA High School Initiative team via email at [email protected].

You Can Fly Challenge underway

The 2023 You Can Fly Challenge kicked off June 1, giving donors the opportunity to give back to aviation. The You Can Fly Challenge directly benefits important initiatives of the AOPA Foundation You Can Fly program, getting more people into the skies and keeping them there safely. You Can Fly creates an unparalleled aviation-theme path for high school students, allows aspiring aviators to maximize their flight training through innovative technology, and provides pilots with an opportunity for increased and more economical access to aircraft through flying clubs. Gifts will be matched by the Ray Foundation and will support major initiatives to protect the future of general aviation. When you donate to the AOPA Foundation in support of You Can Fly, your contribution will be matched, dollar for dollar. The 2023 You Can Fly Challenge is an opportunity to double the impact of your support. Tax-deductible donations should be made by December 31 to count toward the match. For more information, please call the AOPA Foundation at 800/872-2672 or contact us online.

foundation.aopa.org

This program, which is available for grades nine through 12, prepares students to take the FAA private pilot or remote pilot knowledge tests and gives students the skills and experience they need to pursue careers as pilots, aerospace engineers, and in other aviation-related STEM professions.

In the past school year, the AOPA Foundation High School Aviation STEM curriculum was used by more than 530 teachers at 400 high schools to teach and inspire 16,000 high school students in 43 states. The 2023-2024 school year will see continued growth in the number and diversity of students served by the curriculum.

The curriculum contains everything teachers need, including lesson plans, teacher presentations, activities, and assessments. It’s aligned to national education standards and FAA airman certification standards, and meets rigorous STEM, career, and technical education state standards. Teachers get free initial video-based professional development, ongoing support, and access to AOPA Air Safety Institute resources. Through the free AOPA High School membership, students ages 13 through 17 can sign up for free AOPA student memberships.

How can you be a champion for aviation education in your community? You can open those doors in your community. Your friends and neighbors—school board members, district administrators, and school administrators—are the key. Tell them we face unprecedented demand in the aviation and aerospace workforce. Let them know that AOPA provides—free of charge—world-class aviation STEM curricula, professional development, and program support to prepare their students for meaningful and lucrative aerospace careers. Connect them with us via email to [email protected] and challenge them to create career pathways that will make their students’ aviation and aerospace career dreams take flight.

The High School Aviation STEM curriculum is funded by generous donations to the AOPA Foundation.

Glenn Ponas is director of high school outreach for the AOPA Foundation You Can Fly High School aviation program.

aopa.org/curriculum



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