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Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education presented an AE Update session at the recent Civil Air Patrol 2023 National Conference, held this month in Bellevue, Washington. Click the image above to see a quick update video of what's new in CAP AE!
Teachers, many of you are heading back in the classroom this month and next, and now is a great time to plan a Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flight. Find information on how to plan your flight in the newsletter. The beginning of the school year also means the ACE and ACE Plus programs are open or soon to be open. ACE registration began Aug. 1, and ACE Plus registration begins Sept. 1. Find out more below.
This month's featured member is from Puerto Rico Wing. If you know of other outstanding member stories of AEOs or AEMs, we hope you will reach out to us at ae@capnhq.gov
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THIS MONTH: Member stories - Program updates - AE Safety Check - Events - Curriculum - Important things to know | |
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PROGRAM UPDATES
2023-2024 ACE registration is open!
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The Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program is a fun, interactive Aerospace/STEM program for CAP educator members who teach grades K-6, along with CAP members who work with students in those grades outside of the classroom setting. The ACE Program uses the aerospace theme in academics, character education and physical fitness lessons. Teachers receive free grade-specific educational manipulatives for each student participant. Grade-specific curriculum guides are located in eServices and can be downloaded and printed for use with students. To register for ACE, click on the link below. | |
ACE Plus adopt program opens Sept. 1! | |
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Teachers in grades 5-8 who register for the ACE program can have their classroom adopted by a CAP squadron with adults and cadets coming into the classroom to teach aerospace/STEM lessons!
To find out how amazing this collaborative program can be for teachers and CAP squadrons, read about the nationally recognized ACE Plus Adopt Collaborative Squadron and School Team of the Year from North Carolina!
Interested teachers can complete the top of the Request to Collaborate Form and send to their state’s volunteer Director of Aerospace Education (DAE) as found on the list HERE. The state’s DAE will connect the teacher to a squadron and have the bottom portion completed and submitted to adopt@capnhq.gov for processing.
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Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flight update | |
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CAP members who are educators are eligible for one TOP flight per fiscal year! Now is a great time to fly over the school to welcome students to a new school year!
Teachers, to request a flight, contact your state’s volunteer Director of Aerospace Education (DAE) as found on the list HERE. Provide your CAP ID#, the city where you live, and your cell number to help them coordinate with their Operations team to get you a plane and pilot -- to get you into the air!
Wing DAEs, please note that our fiscal year is nearing the end, so plan to close out all pending TOP flights by Sept. 10. We will open up new funding for FY24 during early October to resume the program.
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CAP's AE STEM Kit Program -- featured kit | |
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FEATURED STEM KIT - CROSS COUNTRY NAVIGATION:
The thrill of flying is achieved through personal accomplishments and comes with unparalleled excitement and freedom with the Cross Country Navigation STEM Kit. Included in the kit are Gleim Pilot Handbook, Gleim Private Pilot Knowledge Test, Cross Country Flight activity guide, New York sectional chart, two E6B flight computers, and two navigational plotters. The kit is recommended for ages 12 and older.
Aviation Connection: This kit will help prepare cadets and other youth for flight planning prior to any orientation flight and/or further flight experience. While working to obtain a private pilot license (certificate), cadets and students will become familiar with airplane performance, effects of weather, basic VFR sectional charts, chart symbols,and aircraft cruise performance.
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(These safety nuggets are things to think about as you lead or participate in an Aerospace Education activity. The writer of this monthly feature is Lt. Col. Karen Cooper, who works in safety and risk management on the AE National Headquarters Staff and is also the Northeast Region DCS/Aerospace Education.) | |
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LOOKING BACK CAN HELP YOU PLAN AHEAD
There is nothing more perfect than 20/20 hindsight. Have you ever looked back and said that “I could have done that better,” or “I wish I had...”? This happens to all of us. But you can also use this to improve your planning and foresight. Look back at the previous AE activities and events to see what could have been prevented or done more safely. If After Action Reports were submitted, check them out when you are planning your next event, and take advantage of what other members have noted. And then – check out your plans, using that hindsight. In safety, we call this Lessons Learned, and that type of information is invaluable.
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If you have a safety topic you would like to be included in this space, please email kcooper@ner.cap.gov. | |
Civil Air Patrol 2023 National Conference | |
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Hundreds of members gathered at the Civil Air Patrol 2023 National Conference in Bellevue, Washington, Aug.18-19. The Aerospace Education team enjoyed meeting -- for the first time or again -- members who stopped by the AE tables in the Hangar, a networking and exhibit space.
Thank you to those who stopped by, and thank you to the many members who participated in one or more of several AE learning labs on STEM Kits, Cyber Education, and the CAP AE program itself. Click the button below to view the 2023 AE program recap video shown in the Aerospace Education Update session. If you have any questions for us, please reach out at ae@capnhq.gov.
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AEO STORY
Puerto Rico Wing DAE enjoys helping cadets reach their dreams
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 |  | Meet Maj. Ramon Roman, Director of Aerospace Education (DAE) for the Puerto Rico Wing. He began his Civil Air Patrol career in 1982 as a cadet. He joined again after his children became cadets in 2014 so that he could share family time in CAP with them. "I’ve always loved the idea of flying; so, I became a mission’s scanner and educated the cadets on our AE program," he says. "That’s when my passion for AE started. The idea of flight and space was something that had to be shared with our youth and community." Maj. Roman is a combat veteran having served as an infantry soldier from 1988 to 1996 with the U.S. Army and deployed to Desert Shield/Desert Storm in November 1990 to May 1991. As a civilian, he was a health and safety inspector in industrial and construction sites. He built a health and safety consulting company and retired in 2012 from the company. At age 8, he was inspired by the TV show "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," which sparked his interest in aviation, but he was not able to become a pilot. "I did not have the resources or the right mentors to achieve my dream of becoming a pilot; so that is when I decided to be a mentor for those youth who have the dream." he says. "Now, I have the means to help them reach their dreams, and it’s all here in CAP." Click the link below to read the full story.
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"One of my main functions as a DAE is mentoring, not only my future successor, but also other seniors and cadets. I’m the now, they are the future, and the future must be brighter than the now."
-- Maj. Ramon Roman, DAE, Puerto Rico Wing
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Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Susan Stolovy (SSC/Caltech) et al. | |
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CURRICULUM SPOTLIGHT
Milky Way Fraction Hunt
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Registration for Civil Air Patrol's Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program is now open. ACE is a K-6 grade-specific STEM program. This month's lesson plan is from the ACE program guide for 6th grade. In the Milky Way Fraction Hunt lesson, students will learn about the Milky Way galaxy, pictured, and then decode a message using their knowledge of fractions. The lesson is found in the Grade 6 ACE Instructors Guide as Academic Lesson #9. Or find it here. | |
Each month, this space features important highlights or answers to frequently asked questions. Here are three things you need to know now as an AEM or AEO. | |
You can update your eServices profile information. Here's how: | |
Sign into eServices and click on your name in the top right hand corner. Update your email address, mailing address, contact numbers, etc. This ensures you receive timely and pertinent information from CAP. If you are a teacher, ensure your primary email address is your home and your secondary email address is your school so that your annual renewal email and any other important information will not end up as spam in your school email account. | |
AEMs: Is it time to renew your membership? | |
All Aerospace Education Members (AEMs) are offered an annual FREE “in-kind renewal." The online renewal email is sent 60 days prior to the membership expiration date. A renewal banner appears at the top of the eServices sign-in page 90 days prior to expiring. (You can’t renew earlier than 90 days.) Find additional information at the link below. Thinking that due to the pandemic you cannot participate in CAP’s AE programs? That may be partly true, but when we get back to “normal,” you will wish you kept your membership current, so do not let it expire! | |
AEOs: Reach out to AEMs whose memberships expire soon | |
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AEOs, this is the perfect time to reach out to your AEMs whose memberships expire within 60 days or whose memberships have expired. For more guidance, see Recruiting and Retention of AEMs on the AEO Resources page link below.
Please note: CAP has several categories of membership, but each member can only be assigned one category of membership. Any adult uniformed member, who is an educator, may access all the resources available to an AEM. And, we wish to encourage our AEMs to “hang on” until the end of the pandemic and continue renewing their membership. Once things are back to “normal,” they will be glad they did!
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