From Industry to Classroom: Dee Howard Foundation Expands Aerospace Educator Externship into a Year-Round Learning Community

Each year, educators help shape the future workforce. But to prepare students for tomorrow's careers, educators themselves need opportunities to experience today's industry.

That belief continues to drive the Dee Howard Foundation's Aerospace Educator Externship, which returned this summer with expanded industry participation, broader regional engagement, and a new focus on year-round educator collaboration.

From June 15-18, the Dee Howard Foundation partnered with ATEAMS and Workforce Solutions Alamo to provide four immersive aerospace industry experiences for educators from across the San Antonio region. Over the course of four days, 37 unique educators representing 11 school districts participated in 80 total industry engagements with four leading aerospace employers.

More than a series of facility tours, the externship gave educators an opportunity to better understand the technologies, workforce needs, career pathways, and people driving one of San Antonio's largest and fastest-growing industries.

Building Connections Between Classrooms and Industry

One of the Dee Howard Foundation's core priorities is ensuring that students understand the wide range of opportunities available within aerospace long before they graduate. Teachers, counselors, and campus leaders play a critical role in that effort.

By placing educators directly inside aerospace facilities, the Foundation helps bridge the gap between classroom instruction and real-world careers.

Throughout the week, participants met engineers, technicians, interns, executives, human resources professionals, workforce development leaders, and operations teams. They explored aircraft maintenance hangars, advanced manufacturing environments, engineering laboratories, and workforce training programs while learning how students can prepare for careers across the aerospace sector.

For many participants, it was their first opportunity to experience these workplaces firsthand.

Inside San Antonio's Aerospace Industry

Over four days, educators visited four leading aerospace employers, each offering a unique perspective on the technologies, careers, and workforce needs shaping the future of the industry. From commercial aircraft maintenance and advanced manufacturing to research and development and aviation maintenance training, each visit highlighted a different piece of San Antonio's aerospace ecosystem.

ST Engineering

The week began at ST Engineering, where educators received an overview of the company's aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations before touring the expansive maintenance facilities. Participants learned how commercial aircraft move through complex inspection and maintenance processes while hearing directly from employees about the technical and operational careers that keep fleets safely in service.

For the Dee Howard Foundation, the visit also carried historical significance. The facilities once served as part of the Dee Howard Company, allowing educators to experience firsthand the legacy of innovation that continues to shape San Antonio's aerospace industry today.

Knight Aerospace

Knight Aerospace welcomed educators with remarks from President and CEO Bianca Rhodes before providing an inside look at the company's innovative deployable medical and mission support systems used around the world.

Following an overview of the company's work, educators toured manufacturing operations and participated in discussions with employees representing multiple departments. The conversations highlighted the diverse career pathways required to design, manufacture, test, and deliver highly specialized aerospace solutions.

Southwest Research Institute

At Southwest Research Institute, educators explored one of the nation's premier independent research organizations while learning how engineers and researchers solve complex challenges in aerospace, defense, robotics, and autonomous systems.

The educators participated in presentations and discussions with engineering leaders from various departments. The experience provided valuable insight into research careers while demonstrating the interdisciplinary skills required across modern aerospace innovation.

StandardAero

The externship concluded at StandardAero, where educators gained an inside look at one of the world's leading aviation maintenance organizations.

After learning about StandardAero's workforce development efforts and on-the-job training opportunities, participants toured production facilities and met directly with interns and employees who shared their educational journeys and career experiences. Those conversations reinforced the many entry points available into aerospace, whether through technical education, certifications, apprenticeships, or four-year degree pathways.

Growing Regional Impact

The 2026 Aerospace Educator Externship reflected continued growth in both participation and engagement.

This year's program included:

• 37 unique educators
• 80 total educator engagements
• 11 school districts represented
• 4 aerospace employer partners
• 57% of participants attended multiple employer visits

Rather than attending a single experience, more than half of participating educators chose to continue exploring additional aerospace employers throughout the week, demonstrating a strong desire to deepen their understanding of the industry's diverse career opportunities.

Beyond a Week of Externships

While the four-day externship provides valuable exposure, it represents just one step in a larger strategy.

Beginning this year, the Aerospace Educator Externship serves as the entry point into the Dee Howard Foundation's Future-Ready Aerospace Educator Community of Practice, a year-round network designed to help educators continue building relationships with industry partners while bringing authentic aerospace learning into their classrooms.

Through ongoing professional development, additional employer engagement opportunities, classroom resources, and collaborative learning experiences, educators will continue strengthening connections between education and industry long after the summer externship concludes.

Looking Ahead

Preparing the next generation of aerospace professionals requires more than inspiring students. It requires equipping educators with the knowledge, relationships, and real-world experiences needed to make career pathways tangible inside the classroom.

The Dee Howard Foundation is grateful to ST Engineering, Knight Aerospace, Southwest Research Institute, StandardAero, ATEAMS, Workforce Solutions Alamo, and every educator who invested their summer in expanding opportunities for students across the San Antonio region.

Together, these partnerships are helping transform classroom learning into career-connected experiences and strengthening the region's future aerospace workforce. One educator, one classroom, and one student at a time.

Educator Participant Feedback

You're working with these students on different kind of things, not just things that would look good on paper. These tours really see that balance. So there's a lot of skills, that when you put all those together, anybody can be successful. That's how I like to look at my students and open up their mind at that. Having been here, it lets me know about how I can relay that to them and their parents. That's what I'm getting from all of this.

- Juan Craig (Judson MS - Judson ISD)

As a special education teacher, specifically in high school, a huge part of our planning as a case manager is helping our students prepare for post-secondary. A lot of times I'll get, "I don't know what I want to be when I grow up", and then it's a matter of: 'Let's go back to the basics. What is it that you're interested in? What are your strengths? What makes you happy?' and we start there and keep it moving." Being able to go back to campus and say, 'Here are these industries that I visited,' we help them realize that it's on level for them too and are college bound. Having more information and exposure to that and being able to take it back to campus with me and then learning about these opportunities. The interns that were sitting here were saying, 'We wish we knew a lot of these things and that we got that info from our teachers.' I want to be part of that population that helps give information to these kids and also to be learning with them.

- Crystal Ninan-Young (Holmes HS - Northside ISD)