STEM Academy Opens at Sutter County Airport

A new charter school recently opened a campus on the Sutter County Airport property where students specialize in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curriculum through the lens of aerospace.

AeroSTEM Academy used to be a program offered through CORE Charter School. For the past few years, it’s been operating at the fairgrounds but after receiving state and local approval from the Sutter County Superintendent of Schools, it moved over to the airport where it has room to expand as a public charter school with its own school board and specialized curriculum.

The site includes six portable classrooms, a multi-purpose room, and administration building. School officials have plans for expansion in the future as well.

“There is a shortage of pilots, and there is a growth in the aviation industry worldwide – we need more airplane mechanics, airport managers, engineers, positions like that. Aviation in general provides tremendous opportunities for students in the future,” said Chris Mahurin, executive director of AeroSTEM Academy. “Another component we focus on is STEM. Positions in the field of STEM are growing much faster than all other categories, and they typically provide 20 percent more income, so we are trying to provide those opportunities for our students in Sutter County.”

The school has more than 100 students (grades 6-10) currently enrolled, primarily CORE Charter School students.

In the past, the program had students from high schools throughout the area. Mahurin said the plan is to expand enrollment to other high school students as well, including juniors and seniors in the years to come.

With STEM incorporated into courses, the students are learning coding, robotics, design, and modeling, and some are even creating apps, Mahurin said. The educational program is built around a weekly schedule of both classroom interaction days and at-home learning days.

At the high school level, curriculum transitions into Career Technical Education. The academy has three different CTE pathways, including guided flight where students are prepared to fulfill the ground school component of the private pilot license process; commercial UAV where students can become certified to fly drones commercially; and a teen airplane build – students completed their first build earlier this year, which is now being sold, and the group is already underway on building its second aircraft.

Mahurin said the campus is a collaborative achievement between the school, Sutter Buttes Regional Aviation Association, Sutter County, CORE Charter School and the Northern California Aerospace Initiative.

“We are trying to get the word out now that we are our own program and school. We have some openings,” Mahurin said. “At this point, we are trying to get information out to families for next year.”

Mahurin said the school hopes to continuing growing and to develop into a state-of-the-art campus. The next piece of the puzzle is building a classroom hangar for the students to work out of. With the help of a recent grant, they also plan on providing a new two-year course focused on aerial mapping and photogrammetry starting next year.

A ribbon cutting and open house is planned for today at 10 a.m. The event will be open to the public and include a 30-minute ceremony followed by a ribbon cutting and tour of the campus – 82 Second St., Yuba City.

For more information, go to www.aerostem.org or call 742-2531.

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