“The cornerstones of the YAA program are its goals, vision and core values”
| Goals | Vision | Core Values |
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About Us
The Youth Aviation Academy is “a nonprofit, public benefit corporation” established solely for the purpose of educating youth (ages 8 to 14) in the exciting and growing field of aviation.
Goals
Our goals are as follows:
1) To increase a young person’s knowledge of aviation history (from Kitty Hawk to the Space Shuttle)
2) To use the history and legacy of such patriots as the Tuskegee Airmen, as a vehicle, to discuss and apply the merits of diversity within our society.
3) To instill the values of leadership, teamwork and excellence.
4) To increase a young person’s knowledge of aircraft flight principles and applications.
Vision
Our vision is that all students that have actively participated in the program will become “America’s next generation of aviators”. The Youth Aviation Academy is the first logical step to a rewarding career in aviation. The following figure depicts the relationship of the Youth Aviation Academy to the common elements of the aviation career path and the traditional school progression. The Youth Aviation Academy is analogies to the elementary and middle school levels of traditional education. Participants in the program are taught basic aviation applications and techniques and develop basic skills upon which a student can build (a foundation), as he or she pursues advance aviation training.
Core Vision
The YAA staff strives to instill the following values into each participant:
· Leadership.
· Diversity.
· Teamwork.
· Excellence
Leadership
There are numerous definitions for the word leadership. The YAA staff has adopted the following basic definition:
"Leadership is creating a way for students to contribute to making something extraordinary happen, by exercising authority over themselves and others"
Authority means that the student has been empowered by senior leaders to accomplish a task or project. Authority carries with it the attributes of accountability and responsibility. Responsibility means that the student has taken complete ownership of the task or project and will see the task or project to it conclusion regardless of the situation. Accountability means that the student will accept the praise and or reward, if the task or project is completed successfully, or the student will accept the consequences, if the task is a failure or is not completed satisfactorily.
Diversity
Many studies have been performed in the name of diversity. Many books have been written on the topic of diversity. The YAA staff teaches that diversity means simply that people are the same, but difference. The goal for each student is to understand how his/her fellow students are the same and how they are different in order to effectively learn, work and play together.
Teamwork
The YAA staff has adopted the following basic definition for teamwork. "
“A joint action by two or more students in which each student contributes with different skills and gives up his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the team or unit in order to achieve common goals."
This definition does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal.
In order for teamwork to succeed, each student must be a team player. A team player is one who gives up personal aspirations and works in a coordinated effort with other students of a team, in striving for a common goal. The YAA staff has included team building as one of its four major organizational values, in an attempt to get the students to work as a team rather than as individuals.
Excellence
The YAA staff and the sponsors of the program demand excellence in all things that a student attempts. The attitude that is instilled is that a student is committed to constant improvement and is never satisfied with “good enough”. Our motto in this regard is “Striving to Excel, not to Equal”.