Part of the American Indian Program at ASU East now helps students living on Indian reservations in math and science with a hands-on class about flight instruction.
GEAR UP, one of the programs offered through the American Indian Programs, is currently focusing on math and science in a flight instruction class offered to eighth grade students from Sacaton School, said Director of American Indian Programs Phillip Hubener.
ASU environmental geography and recreational management senior Tommy Rock is a mentor for the class and helps tutor students in the GEAR UP program. He says the flight training class is helpful for students at Sacaton School in the Gila River Indian Community.
"Sacaton has a high drop-out rate and hopefully this program gets the students exposed to university life and sparks an interest in them," Rock said.
The first class of flight training was Jan.18 and covered the basic flight principles. The students built their own kites and tried to fly them.
"I let the students do critical thinking and problem solving skills. I do not tell them how to do it, but I let them figure it out on their own," Hubener said.
The students attending the class were selected by their principal for their high academic excellence and attendance.
Rachel Enos is one of the students selected to attend the class. She likes the flight training class because it gives her an opportunity and is a change from reading books in school. She also likes the class because it gives her pre-college credit.
"If other students are like me, this class will help them graduate from college and get a career," Enos said.
Another student, Luciano Molina, enjoys the class because it helps him think about his future.
"This class gives me ideas and thoughts about careers," Molina said.
The class meets every other week on Fridays. Last week, the class built gliders with propellers and designed the propellers to sustain flight between 90 seconds to two minutes.
Another area that will be covered in the class is how drag, thrust and lift are all factors in making an airplane fly.
"The class allows students to explore and apply principles to what they make," Hubener said.
Toward the end of the class in May, students will get to use F-16 simulators, Hubener said.
American Indian Programs provide financial aid, scholarships, internships and job placement for American Indian reservations around the Valley. The programs are designed to help Indians get into college.
The American Indian Programs involve a broad range of school subjects offered to K-12 and university levels. GEAR UP is a Sacaton School program directly funded by the U.S Department of Education.
Partners of the GEAR UP program include ASU East, Intel, Arizona Community Foundation and Outback Steakhouse.
Reach the reporter at kristin.roberts@asu.edu.
