District creating student-led drone performance team
St. Vrain Valley’s Innovation Center is creating a student-led drone performance team, starting with leasing about 300 drones.
The school board recently approved a threeyear contract to lease the drones for $540,000 a year through Firefly Drone Systems, based in Detroit. Next is a staff training session with the company, followed by the creation of a student team.
As early as late spring or summer, district officials say, organizations will be able to hire the team to provide drone shows — created with hundreds of drones flying in patterns with lights turning on and off in a sequence of different colors.
Assistant Superintendent of Innovation Joe Mcbreen said his research suggests St. Vrain may be the first K-12 school district in the country to start an outdoor drone performance team.
“It’s really one of the most exciting things I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “This is a truly unique and amazing learning opportunity for the students that also benefits the community.”
The Innovation Center already offers five classes in its drone pathway, which culminates in earning a commercial drone pilot license. There’s also an afterschool student project team that can be hired to fly individual drones for various projects, such as surveying sites during construction or checking on open space properties.
Niwot High senior Quinn Sharp took Innovation Center aeronautics classes and has worked on the aeronautics project team for five years. He’s currently the UAS Flight Operations Team lead, which requires him to work directly with local clients.
He said his interest in drones grew from his interest in engineering.
“The varied systems involved in creating and operating drones have allowed me to explore many of the different subfields of engineering, from mechanics to optics,” he said. “The field of drone operation is also one of the few that allows for high paying and interesting job positions prior to receiving a college degree.”
He said adding a drone performance team would be an incredible opportunity for students, giving them experience in the growing engineering field of autonomous cars, drones and satellites.
“A team focused on learning the fundamentals of managing large scale autonomous movements will prepare SVVSD students to become active participants in this new field,” he said.
While the district is still working out the details, the plans for the drone performance team include student pilots plus students who support the performances, much like the tech crew for a theater production.
Along with tech support, Mcbreen said, classes could help with designing the shows. He’s also looking for opportunities to involve music students from throughout the school district to add that element to performances.
“We want to get as many students involved as possible behind the scenes,” he said. “It’s going to be a team effort. Getting into this drone performance area has countless tie ins to the curriculum and work experiences.”
The core drone performance team would be responsible for everything from designing the show to programming and flying the drones. The students piloting would be required to have a commercial drone pilot license and follow all the Federal Aviation Administration regulations that apply to drone shows.
“This is such an amazing project because it requires students to have really advanced skills,” Mcbreen said. “The students will start learning the basics of flight fundamentals, like aerodynamics, drag and lift. They will need to learn Python programming and progress through to earning a commercial drone pilots license from the FAA.”
Other skills students will need include planning, communication and project management skills, he said. Students will need to survey the proposed site, coordinate with local officials, ensure FAA regulations are followed, communicate with all the adults involved, run the show and clean the area after it’s over.