| Aviation High School | |
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"The Sky is not the Limit"
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| Location | |
| 615 S 200th St Des Moines, WA 98198 |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public; Preparatory |
| Established | 2004 |
| Principal | Ms. Reba Gilman |
| Faculty | 24 |
| Enrollment | Current 400 |
| Color(s) | Red, Black, Gold |
| Mascot | Phoenix |
| Website | http://www.aviationhs.org/ |
Aviation High School, part of the Highline School District and currently located in Des Moines, Washington, is an aviation- and aerospace-themed school and one of the Highline School District's small schools. It is focused on preparing students for college, careers and citizenship. The school serves about 400 students in grades 9-12 from around the Puget Sound. From 2004-07, it was located at the South Seattle Community College - Duwamish campus. From 2007-2013, it will be housed at the former Olympic Elementary School, the previous (temporary) location of Mount Rainier High School. In 2013, the school is expected to move into new facilities and be renamed Raisbeck Aviation High School.
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Core classes offered are well above other schools' core classes: language arts classes up to AP Literature and Composition, math classes up to AP Calculus, science classes including Chemistry, Robotics Engineering, AP Physics, Biology, and Physical Science and history classes up to AP US History. Aviation High School offers two languages: Spanish and Japanese.
Seminar-style classes offered include History of Aircraft Design, Information Technology, Aviation and the American Character, Marketing Seminar, Astronomy, Economics, Aviation Business and Marketing, Introduction to Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, Health, and Robotics Engineering.
In addition to academic courses, the school has a mentor program and connections to businesses, such as Boeing, local government personnel, and colleges, such as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The class of 2008 was the first graduating class and consisted of approximately 70 students. They accumulated a total of $1.1 million in scholarships. The Class of 2009, containing approximately 73 students, accumulated a total of $1.4 million in scholarships.
The school was designated by the Washington State legislature as a "lighthouse model of STEM education", which recognizes the school's best practices and student achievement results.[1] US News & World Report in 2011 rated AHS as one of the top seven Washington State high schools in its College Readiness Index.[2]
Admission is based on grades, 7th grade WASL scores, interest in the theme of aviation, student behavior and family. Each applicant is interviewed for 30 minutes, and must complete a 12 page application where they demonstrate their writing abilities. Students must volunteer for 10 hours per year in order to graduate. Students say that this goal is easily met by volunteer opportunities offered by such student run clubs such as INTERACT and the National Honor Society. Only 100 students are accepted yearly, although in the 07-08 year 124 students were accepted. In many ways the process is like that of a private institution, except without tuition.
A new facility, to be called Raisbeck Aviation High School, after a major donor, commenced construction in August, 2011 and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2013. [3] The new building will be located immediately to the north of the Museum of Flight's airplane static outdoor exhibit on the west of King County International Airport, formerly known as Boeing Field. Designed as a teaching tool and to support a rigorous education in "STEM" subjects (science, technology, engineering and math), the building will offer direct views to the adjacent aircraft exhibit which includes a Concorde and pioneering Boeing jet aircraft. The location of the school was selected provide ready access to the Museum of Flights resources and to the nearby approximately 200 flight-related businesses.[4]
The new facility was designed by Bassetti Architects. The design received the 2011 People’s Choice Award and Polished Apple Merit Award from the regional chapter of Council of Educational Facilities Planners International.[5]
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