Aviation Academy

The collaboration that provides students in Marion and Grant County to take aviation and airplane maintenance classes in high school earned a special accolade from the Indiana Department of Education recently.

At their annual Awards for Excellence event in 2019 — which celebrated accomplished students, programs, and business partnerships in career and technical education throughout the state — the IDOE recognized Grant Regional Career Center’s Aviation Academy with a Partnership Award. 

The Aviation Academy is a partnership between GRCC, the Marion Municipal Airport, Air Marion, the City of Marion, and the Jim McKinney Air & Space Foundation. These partners see aviation as a growing area and one of the keys to attracting new businesses to Grant County. 

The Aviation Academy is unique in this region. The partners in the program each have a specific role to play, but decisions are made collectively. GRCC is responsible for teachers, students, and everyday classroom operations. Marion Municipal Airport provides use of the terminal and organizes trained pilots to fly with the students; every student receives at least five hours of flight time. The City of Marion owns the hanger that has a classroom built into it for the program. The Jim McKinney Air & Space Foundation was created to support the GRCC Aviation Academy, and has contributed funding for the fuel required to fly students, as well as other equipment and materials.

This partnership is a win-win for all involved, as we work together to help build a brighter future for our students, our school, and our community.

Mar­i­on May­or Jess Alum­baugh expressed grat­i­tude for the col­lab­o­ra­tive effort.

“The City of Mar­i­on val­ues our part­ner­ship with Mar­i­on Com­mu­ni­ty Schools and the Mar­i­on Air­port," he said in a news release from the city. "The Avi­a­tion Acad­e­my pro­vides a spe­cial career path­way for our area high school stu­dents and pre­pares them for a life­time of success.”

The GRCC Aviation Academy also assisted in the development of a four-year curriculum through the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), one of 150 schools to assist the AOPA in this effort. Once the curriculum is finalized, it will be available to schools nationwide.