School board eyes expanding aviation school with campus at Miami Executive Airport

Duing the Miami-Dade County School Board Meeting of Sept. 11, school board member Mary Blanco proffered agenda item H-7, authorizing the Superintendent of Schools to explore the feasibility of opening a George T. Baker Aviation and Aerospace Technical College South Dade Campus at Miami Executive Airport in southwest Kendall and exploring opportunities for partnerships at Opa-locka Airport.

The proposed actions would have the superintendent engage in communication with Miami-Dade County to express a desire to build a campus at Miami Executive Airport and create a Memo of Understanding if appropriate and any other documents as needed. Funding sources should be explored through public and private entities. Item H-7 further directs M-DCPS to request funding to support this proposal by including it in the 2025 state and federal legislative program priorities.

The item also requests to explore the feasibility of aviation academic partnerships with Opa-locka Airport and any appropriate government agencies.

The aviation sector is currently contending with a significant worker shortage ranging from pilots to maintenance, repairs, and technicians. Specifically, the aviation industry in the United States is facing a critical challenge with a growing shortage of aircraft mechanics.

There is currently a need to fill 10,000 aircraft mechanics annually to keep up with the demand and the current output falls short by approximately 30 percent.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Career Technical Education (CTE) is impacting the lives of Miami-Dade County students preparing them to be college and career ready through programs of study and career pathways aligned to Career Clusters. CTE students graduate with world-class academic and technological skills, plus industry-recognized certifications necessary to transition to higher education and careers. George T. Baker Aviation Technical College has been one of the leading schools.

George T. Baker provides hands-on training in addition to a classroom setting and is located near Miami International Airport. The average annual starting salary for students out of high school who attend Baker is about $70,000 and many are hired before they even graduate. The dual enrollment program is highly sought after by many high school students, but the high demand and location can make it difficult for all those interested to attend.

Given the increased demand for workers in aviation and aerospace coupled with the support of the state to expand CTE programs and the success of George T. Baker Aviation Technical College, opening a south campus would provide more opportunities for students to learn 21st Century skills in aviation and aerospace. Opening this campus in the southern part of the county inside an airport would increase opportunities for students while simultaneously creating supply to meet the workforce demand.

Miami Executive Airport (TMB) is one of the busiest general aviation airports in Florida and is located just 15 minutes from the business centers of South Miami-Dade County and 30 minutes from the newly designated Homestead Spaceport Territory.

“As a school board, we are committed to offering our students a rich array of education to career pathways,” Blanco said. “Given that Miami-Dade County is considered a hot-spot for jobs in the fast-growing aviation industry, I bring this proposal in an effort to explore ways to increase our local talent pool of skilled workers in the aviation industry by expanding career and technical education opportunities across the county, particularly in the South Dade and Opa-locka areas.”

Pursuant to agenda item H-7, an update on the action of this item will be provided at the Academics, Innovation, Evaluation, and Technology Committee Meeting in December.

 

 

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