PHS Adds Aviation and Aerospace Education Course
The Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics (ODAA) and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) celebrated a significant milestone in aerospace and aviation education recently as Oklahoma secured the top spot in the country with 116 schools teaching the AOPA “You Can Fly” curriculum for the upcoming school year, up from 87 schools in the previous year.
Among those schools is Perry High School.
For high school students at Perry, STEM education is currently offered through robotics and engineering, technology education, agriculture, and business classes. While those pathways will continue and grow, PHS will add a new and exciting aviation elective in the 2024-2025 school year.
Aviation is the second leading industry in Oklahoma, behind the oil and gas industry. According to Boeing, it is believed that in the next 20 years the world will need more than 600,000 pilots and 700,000 new technicians, so more and more schools nationwide are introducing aviation and aerospace education.
Perry Airport Manager, Terence Hulet, helped kickstart this conversation with Perry Schools by expressing an interest in sharing available aviation opportunities for local students. From that, a partnership with AOPA formed, allowing PHS to add an aviation STEM course titled “Launching into Aviation - AOPA ‘You Can Fly’” for 9th and 10th graders. Students will have the opportunity to continue this course throughout high school. The aviation and aerospace curriculum is provided at no cost to Perry Schools from the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.
The AOPA curriculum program consists of two pathways - the pilot pathway to become a private pilot, and the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) pilot. Students will have the opportunity to work with both the flight simulators and fly drones, and not have to choose between the two until midway through their third year. Equipping students to be career ready as a pilot or certified to operate UAS drones.
PHS has named Ron Dwyer as the instructor to teach this new aviation course. Dwyer has been a teacher at PJH and PHS for the past 11 years, teaching Chemistry and Physical Science. He has already begun training for his new subject.
On June 3-6, Dwyer attended the third annual Oklahoma Aerospace Education Training Summit at the Tulsa International Airport. He learned about the AOPA “You Can Fly” curriculum that he will be utilizing at PHS.
During the training summit, Dwyer designed and lofted hot air balloons, built reciprocating engines, learned the techniques of unmanned aircraft systems, and toured Spirit AeroSystems.
Amanda Wilson, PPS District STEM Coordinator, joined the leadership group at the summit to tour the aircraft maintenance buildings at American Airlines of Tulsa and hear more about the program.
Dwyer and Wilson both attended the “Planes on the Plains” banquet on June 3, along with industry executives, military aviation leaders, and state legislators in celebration of Oklahoma’s commitment to aerospace education. Lieutenant Governor, Matt Pinnell, began the evening by announcing that Oklahoma is #1 in the nation for the third consecutive year in the number of schools committed to offering these aerospace programs.
“This will be a great addition for our high school students. I look forward to helping students explore this field and play a role in developing our next generation of pilots,” says Dwyer.