Civil Air Patrol’s national youth aerospace-related STEM education program, Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE), begins each academic year with a national liftoff at the previous year’s national ACE school of the year — in this case, Grayhawk Elementary in Scottsdale, Arizona, where more than 600 students, educators, and guests turned out Oct. 15.
Principal Eli Hubbell welcomed students, staff, parents, community leaders and organizations, CAP members, and Air & Space Forces Association representatives for the observation.
Susan Mallett and Sue Mercer from National Headquarters spoke to the guests and students before presenting the National ACE Coordinator of the Year award to the school’s STEM specialist, Michelle Lindstrom, and the ACE School of the Year award to Hubbell.
A statement from the school district after the event praised Lindstrom for “her hard work and dedication to this program (that) made it possible for Grayhawk to win this prestigious award.”
Lt. Col. Ron Marks, Arizona Wing director of aerospace education, coordinated CAP members’ participation. “Civil Air Patrol is a great opportunity for you to learn and grow as a leader,” Marks told the students. “The Air Force is investing in our program and investing in you.”
He mentioned various career options the students could consider, from becoming a pilot to working in cybersecurity.
CAP provided a flyover during the event, with the school nurse and the Parent-Teacher Organization vice president on board. Pilot Capt. Gary Stark fielded questions from the students to describe their flight overhead, while Lt. Col. Ruben Kafenbaum managed the air-to-ground radio communications.
The first question was: “What do we look like from up there?”
The answer: “Very small.”
Participants included Jason Reynolds, Paradise Valley Unified School District interim superintendent; two assistant superintendents; governing board and cabinet members; and Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega also participated. Each spoke to the audience about the empowerment of learning about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) topics and careers at their school and expressed appreciation for the support from Civil Air Patrol’s aerospace education program.
A pair of cadets from Falcon Composite Squadron 305, Cadet Chief Master Sgts. Jaydon Long and Max Trimble, presented the colors.
Much like in CAP’s cadet program, where more advanced cadets lead newer cadets, Lindstrom had sixth-grade students serve as guest instructors in STEM topics for the younger students. Anne Greenberg, governing board president, said that’s how “to make sure that everyone here ‘ACEd’ their lessons. It really shows how you took this journey of excellence and exploration together.”
Lt. Col. Scott Curtis, Scottsdale Composite Squadron 314 aerospace education officer, conducted classroom sessions with the students, assisted by squadron members Claire Traynor and Ruth Mock and Cadet Airman Lola Sherrard. They discussed the principles of flight, aviation careers, the parts of an airplane and cockpit, and CAP cadet program opportunities for students.
Parents and community members conducted special activities for the students’ STEM Day celebration, with:
The Scottsdale Fire Department dropping the students’ lunar landing projects from a fire truck to determine if the eggs inside the student-built “lunar landers” would survive being dropped.
Air Methods landing a Native Air Ambulance helicopter on the athletic field and providing tours.
The Arizona Astronomical Society and NASA conducting astronomy activities with large telescopes,
The Arizona Science Center providing additional astronomy activities, and
Parents conducting ramps and gears explorations.
The students and staff wore distinctive purple ACE T-shirts, spreading a sea of purple across the grass where they gathered. The shirts, provided by CAP and the AFA Frank Luke Chapter, are just one way the ACE program helps provide public awareness of CAP in communities nationwide.
AFA has sponsored and supported CAP’s nationwide ACE program for over a decade. The organization provides ACE award grants, AFA chapter representatives to support ACE classrooms, and donations to help provide the ACE shirts for children. AFA chapters also partner with CAP squadrons to support ACE classrooms in the ACE Plus program, where CAP squadrons “adopt” classrooms to enhance and expand learning.
All ACE curriculum, shirts, and certificates carry the AFA logo to help promote the message of AFA and CAP working across the country as partners in aerospace/STEM education.
The ACE program is a grade-level specific program that supports kindergarten through eighth-grade classrooms using the aerospace theme to promote all areas of academics, good character, and physical fitness for living a healthy and drug-free lifestyle. Since the program’s inception in 2007, more than three-quarters of a million students have been impacted in thousands of classrooms nationwide.
Last year alone, over 100,000 ACE students participated in motivational and interdisciplinary STEM program.
Teachers boast of increased science test scores, improved student behavior in class, and increased student interest in the various aerospace-related STEM careers covered in the 22-lesson curriculum provided for each grade level. Some students, 12 and above, are introduced to the CAP cadet program and join a local squadron for the opportunity for greater exploration of aviation, space, and cyber programs and future careers.
To find out more about the ACE program, check out Aerospace Connections In Education | Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters or contact [email protected]._____Maj. Margot MyersPublic Affairs OfficerArizona Wing
