Superintendent of CUSD schools, Dr. Camille Casteel, announced that the district developed a partnership with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in January during a meeting at Chandler Center for the Arts.
The program through Embry Riddle is expected to open at Basha High School this year, then Perry and Chandler High the following year.
Embry Riddle, founded in 1925, is a school designed to teach the science, practice, and business of the world of aviation and aerospace.
Currently (with two residential campuses and more than 150 worldwide locations) Embry Riddle is credited with being the largest college specializing in aviation and aerospace.
The curriculum covers the operation, engineering, research, manufacturing, marketing, and management of modern aircraft and the systems that support them.
Through Embry Riddle, there are 34,593 students enrolled, at the beginning of the year and attend one of the two campuses or online classes offered. As of 2012, there was a 13:1 ratio of students to faculty.
“This is a partnership for engineering, we will have an intro to engineering class [next year],” Assistant Principal Joe Greene said.
Partnering with Embry Riddle has given S.T.E.M. and on-level students, to participate in engineering classes.
Starting next year, Perry will be offering intro to engineering for dual enrollment/ college credit.
“As we move onto the next level, we would like to add higher level engineering courses,” Green said.
As of registration, there are fourteen on-level students who have signed up, and Greene is anticipating that more will come flocking in for the classes being offered.
“This partnership [with Embry Riddle] adds to the prestige of our school,” Greene said.
Joining the program, Perry is giving students more of an opportunity when they graduate and are deciding which college to attend, along with already having some college courses completed.
As of next year, the school and others in the CUSD district will be offering engineering basics to students, whether in S.T.E.M. or not.
