New Aerospace And Aviation Charter School To Begin Enrollment

BESSEMER, AL — The Governing Board of the new Alabama Aerospace and Aviation High School announced Monday it has signed a contract with the Alabama Public Charter School Commission and can now officially move forward with preparations to open the school in August of 2022.

The school will open in a temporary location at the Foundation of Life Church in Bessemer while a permanent facility is being built at the Bessemer Municipal Airport. The free public charter school, which will serve students in grades nine through 12 from Birmingham and surrounding communities, will enroll an initial freshman class of approximately 130-150 students and add freshman classes each year until it reaches its proposed capacity of approximately 500 students.

“Our charter has been approved and contract signed by the Alabama Public School Charter Commission,” said Charles Knight, AAHS Board President. “We’re extremely excited to have the commission’s authorization and can now work toward having everything in place to open in August of 2022. We are in business.”

The aviation-focused public charter school will offer an immersive, industry-aligned education for an intentionally diverse student population designed to prepare them for the future aerospace and aviation careers.

“This was a huge accomplishment for the board, our supporters and our partners,” Knight said. “This is a huge win for children in Birmingham who are interested in jobs in the aerospace and aviation industry.”

AAHS Founder and now Chief Executive Officer Ruben Morris also expressed his appreciation and excitement about the contract.

“I’m extremely excited the contract has been approved,” Morris said. “AAHS is now official and it’s wonderful to see what we’ve been working toward the past two years come to fruition. We look forward to serving the children and families of Bessemer and Birmingham and are now actively looking for qualified and skilled founding teachers for AAHS.”

Morris said the school will offer multiple STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) related pathways and a college preparatory curriculum. The school will partner with Delta Tech Ops and Alabama’s historically black colleges and universities including Tuskegee University, Miles College and Alabama State University. AAHS will also partner with the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Auburn Aviation to provide aerospace and aviation pathways for its students.

Morris said there are still spaces open for the incoming 9th-grade class. He said interested families and students can find more information about AAHS and complete an intent to enroll form at alaahs.org. They can also contact the school for more information at info@alahhs.org or 205-538-0702.

In addition to the signed contract, Knight said he is pleased to announce Jeff Smith has joined the school’s Governing Board. Smith is a Partner at Smith Ventures, and serves as President of Smith Development and Management, Managing Partner of Lintelift.com and Principal Managing Partner of BDryAlabama.com. He was previously a Partner and Board Member of Shipt.