Escambia students are soaring through STEM opportunity | Opinion

At Escambia Children's Trust, we talk often about investing in what works. When public dollars are entrusted to us, our responsibility is clear. We provide measurable outcomes, real opportunity, and lasting impact for the children of Escambia County. Our partnership with the National Flight Academy, in collaboration with Escambia County Public Schools, is delivering exactly that. Beginning in January of the 2024-2025 school year, 145 Escambia County middle and high school students participated in the National Flight Academy's immersive, week-long STEM experience. This is not a passive camp. Students are placed in a high-tech, scenario-based aviation environment where teamwork, problem solving, communication, and leadership are required every day. They must apply math and science concepts in real time and work together to solve complex challenges. And the results are measurable. Pre- and post-assessments from the program showed average learning gains of 13.1 points, with 75.7% of participants demonstrating measurable improvement. Even more compelling, 36% of students improved their scores by 20 points or more. Those are not abstract statistics. They represent real growth in knowledge, confidence, and applied skills. The momentum has continued into the current 2025-2026 school year, with students from across Escambia County participating in deployments throughout the academic calendar. During the fall of 2025, three school deployments brought students to the National Flight Academy: * Jim Bailey Middle School and Brown Barge Middle School - 40 students * West Florida High School - 40 students * Pine Forest High School - 38 students In the spring of 2026, five additional deployments are being conducted: * Escambia High School - 34 students * Northview High School - 21 students * Pensacola High School - 42 students * Tate High School - 34 students * Beulah Middle School - projected 42 students in April Assuming full participation for the final spring deployment, 291 Escambia County students will participate during the 2025-2026 school year alone. When combined with last year's cohort, more than 436 students will have experienced this immersive STEM opportunity in just two years. For us, numbers matter. Not because they look good in a report, but because they show whether an investment is truly changing trajectories for young people. Escambia County Public Schools plays a critical role in this partnership by identifying and engaging students who will benefit most from advanced STEM exposure and workforce-connected learning. By aligning this opportunity with students' academic pathways and interests, the district ensures that the experience is not only exciting, but meaningful. At the National Flight Academy, students are not simply learning about aviation. They are building competencies that today's workforce demands; collaboration, adaptability, critical thinking, and leadership under pressure. These are skills that translate into any career field. Workforce development does not start at graduation. It starts when students begin to see themselves in future careers -- when STEM stops being theoretical and becomes tangible. For some students, this program sparks an interest in aviation or engineering. For others, it may open the door to cybersecurity, health care innovation, advanced manufacturing, or technology careers. Just as importantly, many students leave with something equally powerful: the confidence that they can lead, problem-solve, and succeed in challenging environments. At Escambia Children's Trust, our mission is rooted in improving outcomes for children and youth. We prioritize programs that demonstrate evidence of success. We measure growth, evaluate performance, and expand partnerships that produce real results. This initiative is doing exactly what it was designed to do which is expand access, strengthen skills, and create pathways to opportunity. By the end of this calendar year, and in just two years of the project, we anticipate more than 520 Escambia County students will have stepped into an immersive environment that challenges them to think bigger about their future. Hundreds have already demonstrated measurable academic gains. Hundreds have gained exposure to high-demand career fields. And hundreds have left believing more strongly in their own potential. That is a return on investment our community can be proud of. Escambia County's future workforce is already sitting in our classrooms today. Our responsibility as a community is to ensure that those students have opportunities to prepare them for the world ahead. Partnerships like this show what is possible when education, nonprofit leadership, and community investment align around a shared goal. When we invest in our students, they rise -- and so does the future of Escambia County. Lindsey Cannon is executive director of the Escambia Children's Trust. Pat Everly is executive director of the National Flight Academy.