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CASE STUDIES :
The Saga of Meigs Field
When Reverend Russell White, a former disciplinarian and truant officer for East Orange High School in New Jersey, saw traditional interventionist approaches to neighborhood poverty fail in this community that falls in the shadow of Newark, he decided to try a new approach. More than 25 years ago he founded the Eagle Flight Squadron, a program that encourages youth to develop trade, educational, and manual skills related to aviation. Students are given the opportunity to develop their own wings, literally and figuratively. The founder and former pastor of the Bethel Baptist Church in Orange describes Eagle Flight Squadron this way: "The program is unique because it not only provides flight instruction, career development, social interaction, and a keen appreciation for discipline, but it also stresses dignity, honesty and integrity. What we want to do is get to the students before the streets do." It's something Eagle Flight does quite well. Hundreds of students, as many as 60 per year, have passed through the program, which helps them raise their grades in school at the same time it gives them an opportunity to learn how to fly. Following admission qualification and testing to determine an appropriate class level, students as young as 11 years old take courses in public speaking, math, English, writing, and life skills. The "airside" of the program consists of courses that include primary flight, intermediate flight, cross-country navigation, flight systems, and flight simulation. While many students may enter the program with a "C" average, those grades typically increase by the end of the following semester. At the same time, the students are readied for their first solo by age 16 by undergoing ground school and flight instruction in Eagle Flight's two Cessna aircraft, Snoopy and Droopy. While Eagle Flight is not a military program, White said it does share certain qualities, such as an emphasis on discipline, the ability to follow instructions and work as a team, and personal pride. Students advance by military rank and must undergo regular scrutiny of their uniforms and report cards. Informational material provided by Eagle Flight puts the program's objectives this way: train youth to become licensed private pilots by providing ground school classes, air training at Essex County Airport (Caldwell, NJ), and preparation for the FAA's written and practical exams; teach students mechanical skills needed to become Airframe and Power Plant (A&P) Mechanics; provide character building and leadership training through the formation of and participation in a drill team that competes for honors with other drill teams around the country and at community and aviation events; and to provide a life skills curriculum for students including basic grooming, corporate social protocol, fundamental budget preparation, debate, public speaking, and college prep. Of the Eagle Flight Squadron's students, 19 have gone on to Air Force academies, 37 are commercial pilots, 190 attended aviation schools such as Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire and Embry-Riddle in Florida, and 259 are working in aviation related positions. But White emphasizes that the Eagle Flight Squadron's success must be measured by more than just whether past students are slipping the surly bonds of earth. According to White, "Since I was always interested in flying, I saw [Eagle Flight] as a way of reversing the negative end of education. We're proud to say that none of our members has ever been arrested for drugs or a crime, nor have we had a teenage pregnancy." For more information about the Eagle Flight Squadron, contact Reverend Russell White, Commander, at P.O. Box 5326, East Orange, New Jersey, 07017 or call 973-674-3580. (Special thanks
to "NJ Kidz Sunday Newspaper," the Star-Ledger and "Propwash"
for material included in this article.) |
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