New school teaches reading, writing and...avionics?

William Antheil is learning how to pilot a plane using a flight simulator at the Central Florida Aerospace Academy.

POLK COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Students at a new Polk County school are learning a lot more than reading, writing and arithmetic.

The students in the inaugural class of the Central Florida Aerospace Academy at Kathleen High School are learning how planes are built, how they work and how to troubleshoot an aircraft's circuit board. The students also have regular course work in addition to their aeronautical education.

"The future of our country depends on us taking kids and pushing them a little more than they used to be pushed," said assistant principal Chad Smith.

The school's campus is on property owned by the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. The location allows the students to be up close and personal to planes throughout the school day.

"It's awesome because you can hear the airplanes," said sophomore Mikey Alvarado.

The program offers students a chance to get hands-on experience and decide if this is something they'd like to do in the future.

"I'm thinking about being a pilot in the Marines," Alvarado said.

Regardless of whether the students decide to choose aeronautics as their career in the future, they are learning skills most high school students are not.

"By the time the students finish the academy, they'll have all their ground work completed for their own pilot's licenses," said Smith.

The students will also have industry certifications for avionics by the time they graduate.

Only freshman and sophomores can attend the program this year. Next year, an additional class of freshman will be added.