GRANT TO BOOST AEROSPACE EDUCATION IN GREENE COUNTY

$984K award revamped into aerospace technology program to benefit all grade levels.

A five-year, $984,000 state grant won last year by Beavercreek Schools has been revamped into an aerospace technology program to benefit all Greene County schools, Beavercreek Superintendent Paul Otten said Friday.

The money initially was awarded to Beavercreek through Ohio’s Straight-A Fund to renovate a donated Boeing 727 into a STEM classroom. Otten said Friday that when estimates came in as high as $3.9 million, the school board asked the state for the ability to modify the grant.

Under the new plan, the money will be used to purchase aerospace-related equipment, develop science curriculum and train teachers so that aerospace education can be spread to all grade levels in all seven school districts in the county.

“Our school board loved the idea of the STEM jet, but they wanted to be fiscally responsible with our tax dollars. They asked, are we investing in kids or investing in a jet?” Otten said. “Now we are bringing $984,000 of state money into the county to impact 22,000 kids.”

Greene County Career Center Superintendent Dave Deskins said several major components of the jet — which was donated

by FedEx in 2014 — will still be used to teach electrical wiring, avionics, and develop an airline mechanic training program at GCCC.

The Career Center was a partner in the original grant, and Deskins pointed to the equipment purchases in the new approach as a key factor. Drones, a wind tunnel and pilot training software will create hands-on experiences. Some of the equipment will be taken to each school when they’re teaching units on aerospace science.

“It teaches kids to think like engineers think,” he said. “They have an idea, and they build something to check out their idea, then they test it in a wind tunnel to see how it holds up. And when it fails, the learning for those students — to be able to step back and re-create it and improve the model, those are all really powerful skills.”

Otten said because of the year delay in modifying the scope of the grant, the 201718 school year will now be the planning and training period, with implementation for students coming in 2018-19.

Otten and Deskins said the new program will focus on younger age levels, with science curriculum planned as early as kindergarten. It also will align with GCCC’s own Take Flight program for high school students.

Deskins said that program identified engineering, information technology and engineering technology (manufacturing) as the three largest job pathways needed in the region, via four-year and two-year colleges, as well as apprenticeships. GCCC has partnered with schools, universities and industry to align its training to aerospace needs, especially given the pull of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

“We’re trying to expose kids and spark their interest in the aerospace careers that are so heavily embedded in our community,” Deskins said.