Friday, May 7, 2021
Seventeen high school students are on course to become drone pilots by earning their FAA certification at High Point Academy (HPA). The high school juniors make up the inaugural drone class which debuted this semester as part of our
STEAM program and
Project Lead the Way Computer Science. The class is the first of its kind in Spartanburg County. Today students showcased their skills in the parking lot of the HPA campus.
The class is part of a four-course certification made possible by a partnership with AINautics, a commercial drone training company based in Columbia, South Carolina. The program is designed to develop the next talent pipeline of pilots and prepare them for careers in fields like real estate, the military, roofing, law enforcement, deliveries, and the service industry. When they aren’t flying real drones, students have a computer simulation app on which they can practice. It has joysticks and works a video game.
For more information about High Point Academy’s history-making drone class, contact Career and Technical Education Coordinator, Beth Thomas, at
[email protected]. AINautics is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business.
For more information on how you can connect with a future certified student pilot, contact STEM U Director of Partner Development,
Christopher Williams, at
[email protected].