The Aviation High School Education Foundation donated $20,000 to Aviation High School to be distributed to graduates through scholarships and (the highly coveted) Aviation Tool Box Awards. We want to thank all those who helped make this possible, including the Ray Foundation, JFK Airport Rotary Club, and Metropolitan Airport News.
The Aviation High School Education Foundation (AHSEF) Board of Directors worked with Aviation High School’s leadership – Steven Jackson, Principal, and Dr. Michael Koumoullos, Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel, to determine how to distribute the money from contributions to maximize the benefit to the school.
There is an increased need to produce qualified and certified maintenance people, and Aviation High School wants to be responsive in producing work-ready maintenance and repair aviation graduates. The latest Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook project shows that 769,000 new maintenance technicians will be needed to fly and maintain the world’s fleets over the next 20 years. The forecast is inclusive of the commercial aviation, business aviation and civil helicopter industries and is up from last year’s forecast of 754,000.
There is a huge need for resources at the school, so much thought and discussion went into the distribution formula. Ultimately, it was agreed that the funds should be allocated equally between college scholarships and Tool Box Awards. The foundation felt that this would help those students who are going directly on to college, as well as those who are entering the fifth-year program to earn both of their licenses.
The school hopes that donations from our current sources will act as a facilitator to broaden its base of contributors. The objective is to grow the student population to meet industry demand, as well as grow the course and program offerings.
For more information about the foundation, go to www.aviationhsef.org
