Aerospace Charter School

Overview

New York State (NYS) Educational Law empowers parents and community leaders to forge new paths for educational options, with charter schools as one key example.

Unlike traditional public schools, public charter schools in NYS are granted reasonable independence, “to develop their academic program, set educational goals, establish student expectations and culture, and select their instructors, staff, and leaders. In exchange for this freedom to set their program, public charter schools are held accountable for demonstrating strong academic outcomes for the students and families they serve.”[1]

This proposed Aerospace Charter School (ACS) has been developed by a diverse, engaged group of community leaders, educators, parents, and professionals who represent various aspects of the aerospace, aviation, engineering, and related industries. This group has coalesced around a goal to provide a new, unique, and relevant academic experience that is both rigorous and exciting to appeal to students from kindergarten through high school and beyond.

Using STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) as its’ foundation, ACS will integrate age-appropriate thematically oriented programming with an emphasis on the growth industries of aerospace, aviation, and engineering, and related applications. ACS will support and focus on the whole child, valuing not just academic success but also social-emotional growth, while bringing learning to life through project-based and other means that accommodate all learners.

As a community-based, tuition-free, public charter school with an independent board, ACS welcomes and encourages ongoing input from all interested parties; proposal highlights follow.

ACS Mission Statement

To provide a challenging learning environment in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, which maximizes individual potential and ensures students are well-equipped to meet the challenges in the world around them.

Timeline & Enrollment Plan

With Charter approval, ACS will launch in Fall 2024. Initial enrollment will focus on Grades K-2, based on demand and desired student to teacher ratios of no more than 20:1. Beginning in the second year of operation ACS will add one grade to serve K-5 within its’ initial five-year term.

The school will eventually encompass Grades K-12, graduating college and career ready students with a strong foundation in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) disciplines and deeper learning.

Location & Facilities

100 Old Maryvale Drive, Cheektowaga, NY (drawing students from Cheektowaga Sloan Union Free School District, Depew Union Free School District, Maryvale School District, Cleveland Hill School District, and Buffalo Public Schools).

The facility targeted is a former faith-based school and is therefore configured in a manner consistent with the requirements of NYSED. Importantly, the site includes indoor/outdoor recreational spaces, a cafeteria, classrooms, lockers, offices, and other mandatory areas. Updates and renovations will be completed prior to the inaugural academic year (2023-2024).

Intended Approach

Charter schools are diverse in mission, program, and values. Some schools focus on specific themes such as STEAM, in this instance, and others may serve unique populations. Each public charter school is granted the freedom to develop its own unique culture, program features, teaching approach, and calendar in exchange for higher standards of accountability.

ACS will get students excited about STEAM disciplines through a lens of space and aviation science. Hands-on activities and project-based learning will allow students to use concepts they learn in the classroom to solve real-world problems and deepen their understanding of career pathways, broadly and in targeted ways.

Through this distinctive lens of aerospace and aviation, students will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to a dynamic, technology-intensive economy beginning in their primary-school years. Leadership, educators, para-professionals, parents, and volunteers will each contribute creating a culture of character and collaboration in close partnership with college, professional, and supportive service communities.

ACS will employ an educational program that encourages imagination, incorporates experiences, supports project-based learning, provides opportunities to engineer solutions, develops critical thinkers, and fosters resiliency, humility, and empathy. The school’s educational philosophy will well-serve those who seek a different educational option even in the earliest grades and want to be prepared for next steps in their education. It will include a strong emphasis on parental or caregiver involvement, student interaction, student interest, technology acquisition, technology-based learning, laboratory work, and exposure to real-world learning.

Graduates will have mastered a growth mindset, determined a college and/or career field, acquired an accompanying real-world, rigorous STEAM skills set, and will be prepared to successfully enter the next phase of their post-secondary education and/or career pathway.

The ACS will produce the next generations of thoughtful, diverse, passionate, effective, and compassionate leaders in some of the most sought-after careers across the nation and globe.

Curricular Innovation & Supportive Partnerships

Today’s aerospace and aviation professionals design, develop, test, supervise the manufacture of, and operate aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles. They develop new technologies for use in aviation, defense systems, and space exploration, often specializing in areas such as aerodynamics; structural design; guidance, navigation, and control; thermal dynamics; propulsion; information systems; production methods; etc. They use computer-aided design software, robotics, lasers, and advanced electronics.

Aerospace professionals often specialize in a particular type of product such as commercial aircraft, military aircraft, helicopters, spacecraft, missiles, and rockets. Those working specifically with aircraft are called aeronautical engineers, and those working specifically with spacecraft are astronautical engineers. Some aerospace professionals use their knowledge to study how the wind will affect a new building in a large urban area, to design an energy-conserving skyscraper, or to research materials and fluid flow for an artificial heart. Aerospace technology has expanded to include the design and development of new Earthbound vehicles, performance automobiles, hydrofoil ships, deep-diving vessels for oceanographic research, and high-speed rail.

Reflecting on this diversity of application affords the exploration and inclusion of dynamic curricula and programmatic tracks, while ensuring that all NYS standards are addressed and met. To date, the leadership group of the proposed school has identified critical partnerships with educational and industry partners and is now working to integrate appropriate components of their offerings into the academic planning process.

This includes potential collaborations for in-school, after-school, and summer programs with LEGO®, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NASA’s Aerospace Education Laboratory, Challenger Center (New York, NY), US Air Force, and US Air Force Auxiliary – Civil Air Guard, and others.