Several school districts to offer drone programs

A new test program will bring instruction on drone usage to students in a few school districts across the state in the 2017-18 school year, said Tim Johnston, program coordinator for the state Department of Career Education.

Five or six districts will take part, funded by a federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical grant of at least $100,000 to pay for instructor training and the unmanned aerial systems, Johnston said.

"We view it as a new innovative technology that's going to have an impact on the economic development of Arkansas," Johnston said, adding that the drone curriculum could be made more widely available to additional schools after the test phase.

Beebe School District began offering high school students courses on drones in the 2014-15 school year. Johnston and others attended an event last fall to see students demonstrate what they had learned.

"About a month ago, we had several school districts visit," said Belinda Shook, superintendent for Beebe schools.

At Beebe, the courses have become so popular that students have been turned away, said Mike Tarkington, formerly principal at Beebe High School and now the school district's human resources director.

"We're starting off with the basics, the history of drones," Tarkington said. Students now can take three years of drone study, an interdisciplinary educational program that teaches science and history topics along the way, he said.

In addition to flying, students learn how to make drone parts and work with the school's agriculture department to study uses for the technology. Drone flights can gather information about crops via special cameras that can provide information about plant health.

Tarkington said the course has not primarily been focused on training students to pass the Federal Aviation Administration's certification exam for small unmanned aircraft systems.

However, in considering bringing the program to other schools, Johnston said part of the goal is to provide students with an opportunity to gain certification. The FAA sets a minimum age requirement of 16 to become certified as a remote pilot.

"After two years in the program, they should be able to sit for the exam and potentially pass it," Johnston said. But some students may not wish to take the test, or they may be more interested in other skills rather than flying drones, he said.

Challenges include making sure instructors are properly trained, Johnston said. He said he expects a decision to be made within a few weeks on which districts will be trying out the program this fall.

Metro on 01/10/2017

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