CRESTVIEW — Antioch Elementary School teachers Amanda Poulsen, fourth grade, and Claire Erk, fifth grade, along with Laurel Hill School educators Chana Russell, third grade, and Kelly Batson, fourth and fifth grade, recently became"pilots for a day."
The teachers arrived March 1 at Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview and, two at a time, they flew with Civil Air Patrol Maj. Eric Duron. Each teacher could pilot the Cessna for 30 minutes. CAP grant monies funded the flights.
The educators — CAP members who trained in aviation tactics and engineering — participate in the Aerospace Connections in Education program at their school, or they plan to incorporate ACE by August. The teacher-created ACE curriculum — conducted through CAP membership — incorporates fun, hands-on activities with lesson plans that meet national standards for science, technology, engineering and math learning.
Antioch teacher Laura Pink, North Okaloosa County CAP ACE coordinator, helped to schedule her peers' flights.
"This allows teachers to take their newly learned knowledge, experience and enthusiasm back into the school and classroom to incorporate it into their science curriculum," she said.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Pilots for a day: North Okaloosa teachers take flight with Civil Air Patrol program