HUDSON – While other students are sweating Regents exams, one local high school is graduating students with their private pilot’s certificate.
It’s a Questar III BOCES program at the Donald R. Kline Technical School, and Questar III officials believe it is the only school in the country that offers free, unlimited flying time for all of its aviation students.
Matt Dangler, 16, of Averill Park, commutes 45 minutes each way to get to the school every day. He plans to become a commercial pilot.
“It’s like driving a car with three dimensions,” he said. “It’s definitely exciting every time.”
Unlike driving, he said, it never gets boring.
“You’re always doing something, in aviation – altitude checking, entering different airspace,” he said.
And while he is also taking classes like AP U.S. History, those are not capturing his attention.
“I’m not going to remember something from the beginning of the year because it is important history but it’s not important to my brain,” he said.
He noted he could look up historical facts when needed, while he must know instantly what to do in a plane.
“I like the hands-on experience. This is a technical school, so it’s pretty much all hands-on work,” he said. “That’s how I like to learn.”
BOCES is one of the leaders in experimenting with alternatives to the traditional high school program in New York state. Other schools will soon be allowed to apply for a trial program in which students can earn a high school diploma through projects, presentations and other work instead of exams.
But at Questar III BOCES, that’s nothing new. The aviation program is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Students enroll in the aviation program early in their sophomore year, and attend…
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