A new program at Pottsville Area High School will soon take learning to new heights.
Starting this fall, students can enroll in a course that will prepare them to become certified drone pilots. Another planned course for the "Crimson Skies" program will teach students advanced drone skills.
“I think one of the strengths of public education is being able to give people different opportunities,” teacher Stephen Horvath said. “While flying a drone is certainly not for everybody, it's definitely something that we can offer people. Not only can they do it and have fun, but they can earn various certifications, and they can exit high school with something they can put on their resume.”
The drone hovered over the football field at Pottsville Area High School on a recent morning, with Horvath at the controls. Juniors Quinn Evans and Adam Klinger watched closely. Both members of the morning TV news team at the school, they’ve used aerial drone footage in their broadcasts. Quinn and Adam will be students in the drone class in the fall.
“It's not like your usual class, where you're sitting down in a classroom doing stuff,” Adam said. “You're getting to engage and you get to go outside, and you get to fly drones, which not a lot of schools, if any, have something like that.”
Superintendent Sarah Yoder reached out to faculty last year, looking for a teacher who would be interested in starting a course.
Horvath, who teaches video and graphics classes, had already planned to pursue a drone license. He went to South Carolina for training last year, and through Clemson University, has received additional certifications.
The first class, open to juniors and seniors, will focus on the knowledge students need for the Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 test. Licensure is required to fly drones for commercial or non-recreational purposes. Students will learn about the weather, how to read sectional charts — maps for navigation — and learn the basics of drone inspection and flying.
A second course will delve deeper, including looking at thermography and how to conduct inspections, such as looking at the light towers on the football field.
Students will go beyond controlling a “robot in the sky” and explore the science of drones.
Quinn wants to become a full-time firefighter after graduation. Drones can help firefighters with tracking wildfires, identifying hotspots and search and rescue missions.
“I really like to learn about things that'll benefit me outside of high school, things that'll take me further than you know once you're once I've done my four years here,” he said. “This is something that'll benefit me after.”
The district used grant and Crimson Tide Foundation funds to purchase equipment, including three Mavic drones for the new program.
“Drones are more than just toys,” Horvath said. “I think there's a public perception by a lot of people that they're just a toy, and a drone is a tool. It's really a wonderful tool that we have, through the magic of robotics, that allows us to go places that we couldn't go in the past. We can do things more safely, more cheaply, and the fact that we can prepare our students for that, that's a great step in the right direction.”
