Drone Education Programs Prepare Students for a Future in Flight

Drone Piloting is a Fast-Moving Industry

As automation, artificial intelligence and connected technologies reshape the global economy, school districts are looking to prepare students for careers that may not have existed a decade ago. Drone education offers an increasingly attractive pathway.

Students participating in drone programs learn more than how to fly an aircraft. They develop technological fluency, engineering skills, an ability to work with data and experience with tools increasingly common across industries.

“If you compare it to 120-plus years of traditional aviation, the drone industry is light-years ahead in terms of industry implementation and regulatory structure,” says Josh Olds, CEO and co-founder of the Unmanned Safety Institute (USI). “And not just in its own market, but in all kinds of markets and industries.” Drones play a growing role in construction, agriculture, public safety, utilities and logistics.

In fact, because of the widespread applicability of drone education and the sheer variety of industries using drones, it can be hard to gauge the potential workforce high schoolers may enter.

“Superintendents want to see real numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” Olds says. “Investing in a program should be a data-driven decision. How much could students get paid? How many jobs are there? But numbers are hard to come by because drones cut across so many career classifications.”

USI, which develops training both for industry and education, advocates for revised Standard Occupational Classification codes that better reflect drone careers. But until better data is available (new SOC codes are due in 2028), many look to Federal Aviation Authority 107 certifications for commercial drone pilots as a way of gauging potential: At the end of 2025, about 493,000 people had earned their FAA 107 certification, an increase of 15% over the previous year.

East Ridge Students Learn Safety Before Flying

At East Ridge High School, FAA 107 certification is the capstone of a two-year program. Students can eventually take their FAA 107 exams (and the school will pay for the first attempt), but they don’t have to achieve FAA 107 certifications to get high school credit. Other required exams come first.

To get to the second year, students must pass a safety exam. “How do drones work? What are the components? What are the air space rules?” Day explains. In their second year, they go through Visual Sight Operator training, “which is about applying what they’ve learned: planning a mission, site surveys, risk assessment, mobilization, pre- and post-flight checklists.”

East Ridge licenses learning modules from USI. The goal is to instill in students the importance of what they’re learning well before they fly an actual drone. “It takes a bit of self-motivation and self-discipline to make it through the program and come out with certifications,” Daysays.

Passing the safety exam comes first, then, about midway through their first year, students move on to simulated flight using Zephyr Drone Simulator software — all before laying hands on a drone.

READ MORE: Support career and technical education programs with the right technology.

“We embed a professional structure in the classwork: academics, sims, actual flight,” Day says. “It’s the same structure of flight training I went through in the Navy.”

Students’ first experience with drone flight is indoors, flying small Ryze Tech Tello drones in groups of three. “We keep 15 batteries, because that becomes the limiting factor,” Day says. “A battery lasts about nine minutes and takes up to an hour and half to charge.”

In year two, after the academic portion of the course is finished, students transition outdoors, flying a more advanced Skydio 2 drone, chosen to comply with federal and state regulations requiring U.S.-made technology. A typical flying day starts with a flight brief and review of the latest meteorological data. Students go through extensive checklists, take turns flying the mission and review video footage to critique their efforts, all under Day’s direct supervision.

“The second year is all about applications,” Day says. Starting with around 30 students, about a half-dozen typically pass the required exams and earn FAA 107 certification. Others, equipped with accredited training from USI, go on to scholarships in aviation or pursue other opportunities.

Washtenaw ISD Generates Enthusiasm Through Certifications and Soccer

Opportunity drove the creation of the drone pathway program for Washtenaw Intermediate School District, which serves more than 46,000 students in the Ann Arbor, Mich., area. The district used part of a $5 million Youth Policy Lab grant from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor to pilot the program in 2025-26, with the goal of eliminating CTE deserts in Washtenaw County. Aerospace Career Pathways developed the drone aviation curriculum.

“We worked first in underserved areas, particularly rural areas, where people may use drones to spray crops, or in building trades, like inspections,” explains Marshaun Brooks, CTE supervisor at Washtenaw ISD. Like at East Ridge, the goal is a pathway to FAA 107 certification and opportunities beyond.

Washtenaw began the drone program at two high schools. At one, 9 out of 10 students passed the FAA 107 exam. “And the other missed by just a point,” Brooks says. “That’s nine FAA-certified drone pilots now able to take on work. That’s huge.”

The district uses DJI Neo drones, with students bringing SD cards of video footage back to classrooms for evaluation. Recently, students in the program used their developing skills to perform 3D mapping for a district elementary school that wanted to build a garden on its grounds.

“The biggest challenge right now is getting American-made parts to meet requirements and maintain the drones,” Brook says. “It’s been a bit of an uphill battle.”

The district has explored ways to get younger students interested in drone education, beyond the promise of potential FAA certification. (Students must be 16 years old to take the FAA 107 exam.) Washtenaw ISD now offers an introductory elective course that students can take before entering the state-approved drone pathway program. “It’s a hook to grab kids’ attention and help build capacity,” Brooks says.

And if that isn’t enough?

“Drone soccer.”

Washtenaw ISD currently runs a drone soccer program at one of its schools, drawing students and potential instructors from throughout the district to learn basic skills, foster collaboration and seed the pathway program. One recent event drew more than 100 students and faculty.

In drone soccer, participants on the ground fly drones in a large cage and try to get a ball into a hole at one end while their opponents try to prevent it. “If they crash into each other, they have to recalibrate, reprogram and get back in the race,” Brooks explains.

North Carolina Districts Work To Train Teachers

Regardless of how schools generate interest, K–12 drone programs face similar challenges in addition to meeting acquisition requirements.

“Finding the personnel is probably the biggest challenge,” says Trey Michael, senior director of CTE for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. North Carolina receives CTE grant money from the U.S. Department of Education and recently partnered with drone delivery service Zipline on a pathway program that currently reaches 82 schools throughout the state. “The biggest X factor in offering these programs is the instructor,” says Michael.

The state offers professional development for interested faculty and fosters relationships with private companies. “Sometimes, you find people near the end of an aviation-related career who want to give back,” he says.

UP NEXT: Choose the right drone platform for your K–12 education program.

North Carolina’s extensive pathway program comprises three courses: Drone Technology Fundamentals, Drone Technology 1 and Drone Technology 2. Students can sit for the FAA 107 exam at the end of Drone Technology 1, which they must pass before moving on to Technology 2.

Like Washtenaw ISD, North Carolina began the fundamentals course after launching the other two to better develop younger students. It also incorporated into the fundamentals course the FAA’s newer Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST), which is now required of anyone flying a recreational drone over a certain weight.

Not all courses are offered at all 82 schools. “Enrollment can ebb and flow based on instructors,” Michael says. In the 2024-2025 school year, about 1,150 students completed Drone Technology 1, considered the “concentrator” course for reporting results to the federal government. Of those, 255 earned their FAA 107 certification and can now fly drones commercially.

“We feel really good about the program,” Michael says. “Those are great outcomes for our students and great outcomes, ultimately, for our economy.”