The Great Lakes region is getting another maritime-themed school -- this time in Cleveland.
The Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School will open in July with 100 to 120 9th graders for the school year, officials announced this week.
From there, the school will slowly begin offering other grades. The school will share a buildling with the Cleveland High School for Digital Arts at 1440 Lakeside Ave.
Christine Fowler-Mack, the chief innovations officer for Cleveland schools, says the public school will train students to become pilots, marine biologists or boat captains, or to go on to higher education.
“It is a school that will teach the core curriculum, but in addition to that it will offer students knowledge, experiences, and internships in the aerospace and maritime fields,” she said.
The new school will also relate to a couple of the city’s assets – Lake Erie and the city’s 2 airports. "It’s an opportunity to make teaching and learning both rigorous but also relevant," says Fowler-Mack. "There will be careers and opportunities in the aviation and maritime fields in Cleveland for many years to come."
There are fewer than 60 maritime-focused schools in the country. In the Great Lakes region, there are existing schools in Buffalo, Toledo and Erie, Pa. Here's a video of the Toledo school.
Davis Aerospace and Maritime is a partnership between Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the city department of Port Control, and PHASTAR, a nonprofit aviation company focused on providing public health education.
Fowler-Mack says the school will be similar to other maritime schools, including the Maritime Academy of Toledo which will serve as a mentor. “We are similar in that we use this lens to really motivate our students to learn.”
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