By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–A pair of Union City School System educators had their heads in the clouds in the final few days of summer break.
And that was a good thing.
Librarian Mindy McClanahan and Middle School special education teacher Holly Scribner were part of a select group of faculty members across the state chosen to participate in the 2024 Aerospace Education Workshop for Tennessee K-12 Teachers.
McClanahan and Scribner were among just 15 educators selected and earned three hours of graduate credit in the program that was sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Middle Tennessee State University.
The two UC faculty members completed an online workshop where they received valuable instruction about aviation, aeronautics history, STEM, and ideas on how to implement those topics into their classrooms.
The Tennessee Aerospace Education Workship is the longest running aviation teacher workshop in the United States – having been established in 1962.
A highlight of the workshop was an in-person Discovery flight lesson with an MTUS flight instructor, during which McClanahan and Scribner both spent one hour piloting an aircraft from the Murfreesboro airport.
“We spent one hour with me flying, then he (the instructor) landed the plane, and we swapped places so Holly could have her turn flying,” McClanahan said, detailing the experience.
“We learned so much about aviation and had a blast flying the plane.”