With the importance placed on STEM learning, and aerospace and defense now the second leading industry in Oklahoma, Newcastle Schools is helping students to meet the needs of tomorrow’s workforce demand.
Newcastle High School is now teaching the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) “You Can Fly” curriculum. Newcastle is one of 87 Oklahoma high schools, teaching the AOPA program, and Oklahoma has nearly double the number of any other state, according to the Oklahoma Aerospace & Aeronautics Commission.
“Oklahoma Aeronautics has been fueling aero education for many decades, and while in those early years, we started small, there were still important foundational efforts that have led us to have one of the most robust aero education programs in the country,” said Director of the Aeronautics Commission, Grayson Ardies. “The work we are doing now is putting students in the captain’s seat insofar as their ability to choose their future aerospace career paths. We are seeing students choosing Oklahoma colleges to pursue engineering or aviation degrees, looking toward military service in order to serve our country, or joining a CareerTech aviation maintenance program to become an aircraft mechanic.
