Gaetz Aerospace Career Academy: About Us
Our Vision
To become the national leader in K-12 STEM and aerospace education. We will create transformative learning experiences to shape a diverse generation of problem-solvers and student leaders who will advance the future of aviation and aerospace technology on a global stage.
Our Mission
To advance K-12 student success through high-quality STEM and aerospace education that reflects a culture of respect, integrity and professionalism. With a steadfast commitment to accountability and continuous improvement, we deliver learning experiences that ignite curiosity, foster academic and personal growth, and prepare students to become tomorrow’s aerospace and STEM leaders.
Colleen Conklin
Executive Director
Email: colleen.conklin@erau.edu
Phone: 386-226-6020
Terry Bosma
Director of Business & Financial Operations
Email: terry.bosma@erau.edu
Phone: 386-226-6852
Mallory Cone
Director, STEM Programs & Outreach
Email: conem1@erau.edu
Phone: 386-226-7648
Charles Ellis
Associate Director of Flight Operations
Email: charles.ellis@erau.edu
Phone: 386-281-6740
Samantha Miata
Director of Online Dual Enrollment
Email: miatas@erau.edu
Phone: 386-226-4846
David Moorefield
Director, Program Development
Email: moorefid@erau.edu
Phone: 386-226-2921
Blake Neal
Associate Director, K-12 Competitions & STEM
Email: nealb4@erau.edu
Phone: 386-226-7201
Janene Neal
Director of Teacher Training and Development
Email: janene.neal@erau.edu
Phone: 386-226-6237
Dorothy Simmons
Administrative Assistant
Email: simmond7@erau.edu
Phone: 386-226-6560
Margherite Veneziale
Manager of Business Operations & Student Services
Email: veneziam@erau.edu
Phone: 386-241-6268
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During the 2014 fall commencement ceremony, Embry‑Riddle announced that the university’s Aerospace Career Academy would be renamed the Gaetz Aerospace Career Academy in his honor. The academy was established in 2004 at Gaetz’s suggestion when he was the Okaloosa (Florida) School Board superintendent, searching for ways to link education and Florida’s economic future. He turned to Embry‑Riddle, the global leader in aviation and aerospace education, with an idea and an invitation.
The result was a concurrent enrollment program in which students receive both high school and college credit for completing up to 10 courses taught by Embry‑Riddle professors embedded at the high schools. Students can select courses in such areas as aeronautics (pilot training), unmanned aircraft systems, business and engineering.
Gaetz has been a champion of education since first being elected to the Okaloosa School Board. He then became the first non-educator ever elected Superintendent of the Okaloosa County School District. Under his leadership, Okaloosa Schools became the highest performing public schools in Florida and won numerous national awards for academic excellence.
Of the Aerospace career academy that has been named in his honor, Sen. Gaetz said, “Connecting our high school and college enrollment programs to Florida’s economic development in the aerospace industry equals added value to our students, at no cost to their families.”
Gaetz is the retired co-founder of VITAS Healthcare Corp., a hospice care provider that comforts patients and their families and preserves their dignity in the face of terminal illness. He was also president of the National Hospice Organization.
Our first aerospace career academy was established in 2004 as part of Okaloosa County School District’s CHOICE program, conceived by Don Gaetz, who was then Okaloosa County School District Superintendent of Schools and is now a Florida State Senator.
Gaetz Aerospace Career Academy has come a long way since the Okaloosa days. Our program is a concurrent enrollment model in which Embry‑Riddle-credentialed high school teachers or Embry‑Riddle adjunct professors teach high school students the actual college courses that are delivered at our Daytona Beach campus.
Gaetz Aerospace Career Academy works to ensure that the college courses offered in high school are as rigorous as courses offered at Embry‑Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus. Our program strives to adhere to the highest standards for our students to experience a seamless transition to college. For our institute to achieve this goal, we developed five partnership standards for student success.
- Curriculum Standard: Courses that are administered through the high school are Embry‑Riddle catalogued courses with the same departmental designations, course descriptions, numbers, titles, and credits. Embry‑Riddle courses that are administered through the high schools reflect the pedagogical, theoretical, and philosophical orientation of the sponsoring Embry‑Riddle departments. To ensure that Embry‑Riddle courses offered at the high school are the same courses that are offered on campus, our faculty visit the high school site to evaluate the high school instructor, document student involvement, compare the rigor and depth of student assessments, and measure these results to the Embry‑Riddle on-campus course.
- Faculty Standard: High school instructors are approved and credentialed through Embry‑Riddle academic departments and meet the academic department’s requirements for teaching the university’s course(s). High school instructors who are new to the Concurrent Enrollment Program (CEP) are given discipline-specific training and orientation on course curriculum, assessment criteria, pedagogy, course philosophy, and administrative responsibilities and procedures prior to the instructor teaching the Embry‑Riddle course. Instructors that are continuing in the CEP are given annual discipline-specific professional development activities and ongoing collegial interaction that addresses course content, course delivery, assessment, evaluation, and research and development in the field.
- Student Standard: Embry‑Riddle officially registers high school students as non-degree-seeking students of Embry‑Riddle and records courses administered through the concurrent program as official Embry‑Riddle transcripts. CEP students are expected to meet the course prerequisites of Embry‑Riddle. The CEP gives students and schools a comprehensive publication that outlines the rights and responsibilities of the concurrent student.
- Assessment Standard: CEP students are held to the same standards of achievement as those expected of students in on-campus sections. High school students are assessed using the same activities (for example, papers, projects, assessments, labs, assignments, and readings) as students at Embry‑Riddle.
- Evaluation Standard: The CEP conducts end-of-term course evaluations for each course section offered through the program and provides the results to the high school and the Embry‑Riddle course monitor instructor. The CEP provides surveys to the high school instructors addressing the methodology of the course. This data is evaluated and analyzed for courses offered in the future.