An aviation program will be flying into McAllen ISD through its Career Technical Education Department beginning this fall. The program is designed to give high school seniors the chance to obtain private pilot and drone licenses.
Administrators at the district briefed trustees on the program at a board meeting Monday evening.
“Our intent is to get 10 students a year to get their private pilot license, and that’s a prerequisite for the commercial pilot license, and simultaneously to get a drone license as well,” Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez told the board. “So we know that there’s a big shortage of pilots across the nation and we believe that we can help fill that gap. So we’re excited about this program.”
That shortage is expected to be significant. Information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates the demand for commercial pilots is expected to rise by 14% between 2020 and 2030.
McAllen ISD’s program would save prospective pilots time and money, district spokesperson Mark May said via email Tuesday. He described the program as being very unique for the high school level.
“As far as the private pilot’s license, we believe we will be the first in the RGV to offer such a course,” he wrote. “It is possible other districts might be offering something related to drone training.”
The district is currently working on a contract with approved vendor McAllen Flight Academy to be able to offer the course, May said.
Superintendent Gonzalez said Monday that the district is also planning on partnering with STC to some degree to offer the program.
“We do know that Dr. Solis is very progressive and he’s very interested, so we have all the confidence in the world in South Texas College,” he said.
Students looking to fill one of the 10-12 slots in the program when it gets off the ground in the fall must be 17 years old, able to pass the FFA medical certification, English-literate, have U.S citizenship and a valid Texas ID, be approved by the Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application, sign a risk and liability waiver and fill out an enrollment application.
At least a portion of funding for the program’s first year may be paid for with a grant through the office of U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, that the district applied for earlier this month.
Trustees greeted news of the program warmly. They noted the advantages the program could give students planning to pursue a military career, as well as the potential aviation-mechanics side of the coursework.
They also noted the importance of the drone licensing, which the district says has commercial applications in a diverse range of industries that include construction, natural resources, media and law enforcement.
“I think it’s a great opportunity. I myself am a drone pilot, and it’s a great opportunity for all these students to pick that up — and it’s the way business is going,” Trustee Tony Forina said. “There’s gonna be room for a lot of drone pilots, so I think it’s a great opportunity for us.”
