April 16, 2019
Colorado SKIES Academy Coming to Exploration of Flight at Centennial Airport
On August 19, 2019, Centennial Airport will become home to an all-new aerospace and STEAM-based middle school, the first of its kind in the state of Colorado. The Colorado SKIES Academy is a fully approved tuition-free public charter school for grades 6-8 within the Cherry Creek School District.
The school will be based at the Wings Over the Rockies new Exploration of Flight campus on the southeast side of Centennial Airport, in a brand new middle school building, think “hangar.” Construction of the new school building is slated to start soon and be completed by March 1, 2020. During the construction students will utilize state of the art temporary buildings, adjacent to the current Boeing Blue Sky Gallery building, which will also be used for additional instruction space during the construction. JHL, the contractor for the project has offered to engage the faculty, students, and their families in the construction process, which includes collaborating with the staff to come into the classroom to teach the kids about the design and construction process of their brand new building.
With over 210 students already registered for the first year, Colorado SKIES Academy will provide projected-based learning to engage students that have a passion for aerospace. The curriculum will include, but is not limited to, aerospace engineering, introduction to piloting, unmanned aerial systems, coding and Arduino technology, current challenges in space exploration and more. This project-based curriculum provides students the opportunity to work with industry leaders while engaging in hands-on activities and finding solutions for real-world aerospace challenges.
Don’t live in the Cherry Creek School District? No problem… the Colorado SKIES Academy is open to all students with a passion for aerospace no matter their current school district. Enrollment is still open for the 2019/2020 school year as the school has room for more than 250+ students in its first year. If you are, or know an educator that shares a passion for aerospace Colorado SKIES Academy is still hiring staff and teachers.
To learn more about Colorado SKIES Academy or to enroll your student for the coming school year, visit https://coloradoskiesacademy.org/
Note from Colorado Skies Academy: If your business is interested in having Bri Jones, the Enrollment Specialist for Colorado SKIES Academy, host a 'lunch and learn' for your employees who may have children interested in attending CSA, then please contact her directly at bri.jones@coloradoskiesacademy.org
CABA Foundation to Host “AVIATION DAY” Event for Aspiring Students at KAPA; Looking for Volunteers
PLEASE NOTE: Listed below is the correct day and date. We apologize for any confusion!
The CABA Foundation will be hosting an AVIATION DAY event at the Wings Over the Rockies (WOTR) Exploration of Flight facility on Saturday, September 21, 2019. The event, co-hosted by WOTR, will be open to school districts throughout Colorado, including parents, and feature guest speakers who will highlight careers in business and general aviation.
The CABA Foundation is currently seeking volunteers to assist with organizing the event, including help with marketing, scheduling, providing assistance as a school liaison, arranging speakers and other critical roles. If you or someone you know is passionate about aviation and would like to help others find a fun and rewarding career in aviation, please contact Foundation Chairwoman, Kandi Spangler here to learn more.
CABA Foundation Making Strides to Bring New Talent into Business Aviation
Over the past several months, the CABA Foundation has been hard at work to discover new ways to bring new talent into our industry through local initiatives. Currently, the Foundation is working with several other groups along the Front Range through a consortium called “Aerospace Alley,” which consists of key members of local school districts, area colleges, United Airlines and other area stakeholders. Organized by the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, Aerospace Alley holds meetings approximately every six weeks, during which discussions are held to find ways to inspire and engage with young people and open their minds to the many rewarding careers available in aviation.
CABA Foundation Seeking Professionals to Speak at Local High Schools and to Host Open Houses
Through wide diversity of its members and member companies, the Foundation believes it is uniquely positioned to have a significant impact in workforce recruitment efforts by finding professionals within our own membership who are willing to a) make themselves available in a classroom environment to talk about themselves and their career in aviation, and/or b) by opening up their hangar or aviation operation for a school field trip to highlight aviation and possible careers in the industry.
If you or someone you know who is actively employed in business or general aviation and would be interested in speaking to a group of adolescents for the purpose of highlighting your career and how you started in aviation to how you got where you are today, please contact Foundation Board Member Matthew Feltner here to learn more and to get signed up on our speaker list.
If your company is involved in any aspect of business or general aviation and is willing to open up your facility for an “open house” type field trip, where students can see the inner workings of your operation, how the business is run, learn about the duties of different job positions and possibly even "shadow" an employee for a day, please contact Foundation Board Member Matthew Feltner here to learn more and to get signed up on our company “Open House” list.