Connecting Our Kids to Great Careers
Dear Colleagues,
The best part of my job is spending time in schools with our students, seeing first-hand what they’re learning, hearing what excites them, and even occasionally joining them in class activities. Last week’s visit to Aviation High School in Queens reinforced again my belief in our kids and in the power of our schools to connect them to a great career…and a great future.
As you might guess, Aviation High School prepares students for careers in aviation maintenance and the aerospace industry. Last Monday, I got to celebrate the school’s exciting new partnership with Joby Aviation, a leading air-taxi service for the New York City area. Through this partnership, our students will develop real-world, industry skills, and it will open up a vast frontier of opportunities in the field of electric flight to them.
Students participate in Joby’s pilot-training school, a rigorous academic program, and learn from a technical curriculum that’s aligned to Federal Aviation Administration standards. But that’s not all. Joby has provided the school with virtual reality (VR) flight simulators, and I got to try one!
Outfitted in a VR headset, I slid into the pilot’s seat, wrapped my right hand around the remote control, and off I flew (guided by a student, of course). It was extraordinary! This state-of-the-art technology allows students to experience what it’s like to fly the Joby S4, one of the company’s electric aircraft.
Our partnership with Joby is another way we are reimagining the school experience and putting our students on pathways to bold, uplifting futures. Our educators help students find their path—their dream job. And then we need to get them firmly on that path, with all the skills and confidence they need to go after that future they see ahead. Aviation High is doing a terrific job of putting its students on the runway, getting them ready to soar.
The best part: We can use high-quality Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs like this as a blueprint for other schools and pathway programs across the city. Please visit our website to learn more about career-connected learning and how we put students on pathways to rewarding careers.
None of this innovative programming would be possible without dedicated educators in the cockpit, so let me close with a shout-out to Principal Steven Jackson, Superintendent Hoa Tu, and Aviation’s remarkable teachers, many of whom are graduates of this very school. And best of luck to the remarkable students I met last week; it’s all systems go…with a limitless future on the horizon.
Soaring high,
David C. Banks
Chancellor
Inspiring Student Leadership at M.S. 390 in the Bronx
Chancellor Banks enjoyed a wonderful visit last week to M.S. 390 in the Bronx, where he met with student leaders. The M.S. 390 school culture emphasizes student social-emotional development and leadership, and students are empowered to make positive decisions through the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People-Leader in Me process.
Grieving the Loss of a Beloved Teacher
Our community lost a beloved teacher in a tragic car accident that happened in late November. Shelly Vilsaint was a special-education teacher at Frederick Douglass Academy III in the Bronx. She was also co-chair of the school’s Special Education Department and the coach of the girls’ basketball team. Chancellor Banks visited Frederick Douglass Academy III last week to express his condolences and to support the school community. “My thoughts are with Ms. Vilsaint’s loved ones,” Chancellor Banks said, “and I grieve this devastating loss alongside the entire school community.”
—-