New Jersey Based Business Education Partnership Launches New
Aviation Education Program For Students, Faculty
A business education partnership in Hunterdon County, New
Jersey, has been awarded a $100,000 U.S. DOT grant for using
innovative aviation education programs as a tool for igniting a
passion for Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM).
"Preparing today's youth to become tomorrow's transportation
professionals" is the mission of the DOT Garrett A. Morgan
Technology and Transportation Education Program (GAMTTEP) grant,
provided through the Federal Highway Administration, in
collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air
Transportation Centers of Excellence.
“Through these awards, the DOT strives to encourage
students to consider careers in transportation,” says
Patricia Watts, Ph.D., Program Director for FAA Air Transportation
Centers of Excellence, “and, within the FAA of course, we are
particularly interested in inspiring students to look toward future
possibilities in aviation.”
This New Jersey-based STEM collaborative was initiated by local
business leaders from Alexandria Field Airport and includes
Hunterdon Central Regional High School, the lead education agency,
Delaware Valley Regional High School, and affiliated K-8 local
school districts. Members also include Rutgers University, Raritan
Valley Community College (RVCC), and other aviation industry
experts. The collaborative brings together a diverse and highly
experienced group of business and education professionals to use
aviation-based STEM curriculum, and hands on activities available
at a general aviation airport, to motivate and mentor students and
faculty from pre-K through the University levels. Leadership
training, aviation clubs, airport engineering orientations,
early-college education credits, scholarships, summer camps,
internships and even building an experimental aircraft, are
examples of programs to be offered through this collaborative.
“This grant provides an extraordinary opportunity for
working collaboratively with our local airport and providing
learning and leadership training for students and faculty”,
says Lisa Brady, Hunterdon Central Regional High School District
Superintendent.
“Alexandria Field will be the living laboratory for many
of the programs funded by this grant”, says Ms. Castner,
Program Director and part owner-operator of Alexandria Field
Airport, located in Pittstown, NJ.
"If I can fly an airplane, I can do anything,” is a
familiar quote from participants in two leadership training
programs ("Leaders Take Flight" and "Women Take Flight") developed
from seven years of research conducted by Ms. Castner and Sue
Stafford, Ph. D., a Professor at Simmons College in Boston.
An initial grant from the Wolf Aviation Fund helped launch the
workshops that use flight training in small airplanes to develop
three key leadership traits: confidence, adaptability, and
communication/collaboration. Findings from the workshops document
the power of aviation. “Learning about flying is not just
about becoming a pilot; it's about personal empowerment and
self-discovery.”
“I've had Simmons faculty who participated in Leaders Take
Flight workshops see me in the hall a year and a half after the
workshop ended,” says Sue Stafford, an instrument rated
pilot. “They burst out with comments like, ‘[I am]
Still acting as pilot in command!' That sort of impact is typical
for this intense, 2-day experience; the learning sticks!”
The DOT grant provides faculty at the two high schools, Rutgers
and RVCC the opportunity to participate in Leaders Take Flight,
where they will receive training and confidence building that can
be translated into improving STEM education in the classroom. Six
female students from each high school will participate in "Women
Take Flight" workshops. Outcomes of the programs and workshops will
be shared with participants and recommendations will be made for
how to sustain and strengthen the programs funded by this initial
grant. It is anticipated that the Office of the Program of
Women in Science, Engineering and Math program at Rutgers
University, in addition to the Aviation program at Auburn
University, will use the leadership workshops to strengthen
teaching, and attract and retain more young women into STEM related
programs.
“The FAA is delighted to see a Garrett Morgan grant
awarded to support Hunterdon and the Women Take Flight
partnership,” says FAA's Patricia Watts. “I would
expect this exciting venture will be a model program for the entire
nation. This team has put together all the necessary components to
stimulate students' interest in the excitement of flight, and to
inspire them to focus their studies with purpose.”
“Over the next year, we want to include as much of the
local community and aviation business leaders as possible”,
says Ms. Castner. “We intend to cast a wide net to seize
students of all ages, with a particular focus on drawing the
attention of women and minorities. This is a unique program
that meets many of the goals recently outlined in the President's
‘Change the Equation' initiative.”
A Kick-Off event for the Central New Jersey GAMTTEP Education
Collaborative is open to the public and scheduled for Saturday,
November 13, 2010 at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in the
auditorium from 10AM until 12Noon. It will be followed by an Open
House at Alexandria Field airport from 1PM until 3PM featuring
aircraft of all kinds.