Washoe County’s Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology (AACT) career-technology high school will soon launch the district’s first aviation education program, thanks to a grant of over $1 million from the Gillemot Foundation.
The new pilot program had been an important project for George W. Gillemot, whose foundation is dedicated to expanding aviation and aerospace education programs throughout the region.
In 2023, the foundation gifted the University of Nevada, Reno $36 million to create an Aerospace Engineering Department — the largest donation the university has received in its 150-year history.
Gillemot, who died in 2022 at the age of 96, was a successful inventor in the communications world and a life-long aviation fanatic. His vision was to expand aeronautics in Nevada, and believed the way to do so was to invest in youth.
According to foundation trustee Tom Hall, creating these educational programs is the way to achieve that dream.
After working with the school district and other outside partners, foundation leaders determined they would like to see the educational programming expanded to high schoolers as well.
“Our youth are the most important parts of our lives,” Hall said. “Statistically, they make up 30% of the population, but 100% of our future. If we don’t take care of our youth whenever we can, we’re missing something.”
Within the aviation and aerospace industries, there is a shortage of not only pilots but also aircraft controllers and aviation maintenance technicians. The hope is that by providing these educational opportunities, the region’s aviation industry will get a jump start.
AACT was chosen from several schools surveyed due to its Career Technology Education (CTE) focus and its proximity to the airport, according to the district’s CTE director, Joshua Taufa Hartzog.
Before the program begins the school will need heavy infrastructure and retrofitting components, flight simulators, drone kits, text books and more on site changes. The program will also include busing students in and out of state for field trips.
“We’re working to make sure the space is ready,” said Hartzog. “It’s going to be a lot of intensive work.”
Administrators, faculty and students at AACT have fully embraced the program, which will provide aviation education to around 60 students.
AACT Principal Jason Mattick said when AACT was selected, the entire student body got to work.
“We have a deep-rooted culture of student-driven work [at AACT], and our art program created a logo for the [aviation program] right away,” Mattick said. “Our video production students are here documenting this momentous occasion, and they also created a promotional video at the beginning of the year.”
Mattick said their students don’t only make “cool videos,” but “cool swag” as well, and a gift bag was provided to those at Tuesday’s trustees meeting which included model airplanes, coasters, key chains and more, all created by students.
A promotional advertisement had also been created to encourage prospective eighth-graders to apply for the program.
“When we say we’ll take something to new heights, you’ve picked the right school,” Mattick said. “We’re proud to welcome [the program] with the generous, generous donation from the Gillemot Foundation.”
Trustees voted unanimously to approve the $1.09 million check for the AACT program.
