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Team BuildingFAQ
What is the NFA's relationship to the Navy and Military?
Is the NFA actually a military academy?
What ages will be able to attend?
What makes up the curricula or educational program?
Is the educational content accredited and will it count towards high school or college credit?
Is the National Flight Academy a certified camp through that American Camp Association (ACA)?
How often will the programs run?
Where will the facility be located?
How large will the facility be?
How much has been raised, and how much will construction cost?
How much money still has to be raised?
What is the NFA’s relationship to the Foundation and Museum?
Are positive role models and core values built into the educational program?
Where will the teenagers sleep?
What about the security and well-being of my child?
Will persons with physical challenges be able to attend?
What is the difference between “serious games” and “games”?
How many and what kind of staff will support the NFA?
Is Distanced Learning part of the NFA program?
What can family members of attending aviators to do in the Pensacola area?
Will there be scholarship and grant opportunities for interested teens?
Q. When does the NFA open?
A. The NFA is planned for opening in early 2012.
A. According to the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment Survey, United States students scored lower than the world average in the subjects of science and math. Our nation now ranks in the bottom one-third of all industrialized countries. Many students even question the relevance of math and science in their daily lives. In the midst of one of the most demanding periods in history, America’s youth must be ready to compete globally and lead in the technological future. To address this problem, the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Inc. has developed an innovative program that incorporates aviation as the motivating force in an intense and fun educational environment. The National Flight Academy (NFA) will be the world’s premier destination experience in which the excitement and wonder of aerial flight ignites and flames our youth’s passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The Academy will provide a creative learning adventure designed to stimulate and motivate studies of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through a dynamic, immersive, visceral, and hands-on course of instruction, by underscoring the fact that a basic knowledge of science and mathematics is fundamental to meeting the challenges of the 21st Century.
Q. What is the NFA’s relationship to the Navy and military?
A. The NFA program will leverage the intellectual property and branding of “Naval Aviation” as its core motivating vehicle; however, the NFA is NOT owned, operated, nor funded in any part by the Navy or other components of the military or Defense Department. Development and innovative uses of technologies will be further developed through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA) between the Navy and the National Flight Academy and Naval Aviation Museum Foundation as private ventures.
Q. Is the NFA actually a military academy?
A. No, not in any sense of the phrase. Although housed on Naval Air Station Pensacola, and utilizing Naval Aviation as a motivating theme and global brand, the academy is strictly owned and operated as a Limited Liability Corporation under the private 501(c)3 nonprofit Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. As a formal educational venture, the NFA will, as its mission states, inspire and educate our Nation’s youth in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).
Q. What ages will be able to attend?
A. The NFA will be an in-residence educational facility focused on grades 7th through 12th. Shorter weekend programs will be offered for families and adults, and Corporate Team Building and Teacher Training programs may be held during the week. Other more specialized programs are also envisioned.
Q. What makes up the curricula or educational program?
A. Core curricula will include aerodynamics, propulsion, navigation, aviation physiology and meteorology. However, the National Flight Academy will be more than just academics. Non-violent, non-lethal learning scenarios under development will include humanitarian assistance and disaster response, weather studies, air races, aircraft design, search and rescue, aerial fire-fighting and ballistic flight. Each learning scenario will be aligned specifically to Sunshine State Standards for Math and Science, the findings of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and National Science Education Standards. An additional area of focus will be on 21st Century Core Competencies, to include emphasis on core values, leadership development, peer teaming/cooperative learning, effective communication and public speaking.
Q. Is the educational content accredited and will it count towards high school or college credit?
A. The exciting and evolutionary academic program and curricula currently under development by the University of West Florida will ultimately be vetted through professional educators and local, state and national universities to achieve accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). We continue to work with local secondary educational institutions to first secure high-school credit for normally scheduled school days. Further, our vision includes college-level general science credit for successful completion of the National Flight Academy course for 11th and 12th grades.
Q. Is the National Flight Academy a certified camp through that American Camp Association (ACA)?
A. The National Flight Academy staff is currently in the process of being awarded ACA accreditation by opening in 2012. ACA ensures a safe and effective, comprehensively covering everything from severe weather plans, to health services, to tough standards in staff vetting and training and food preparation and service. More information can be found at the American Camp Association website.
Q. How often will the programs run?
A. Up to 39 six-day, five-night in-residence educational programs are planned per year. A number of shorter 3-day weekend courses for families, adults, seniors, teachers and corporations (team building) will also be offered throughout the year.
Q. How much is tuition?
A. The National Flight Academy will be operated on a fee basis, but with emphasis on scholarship and grant opportunities. Tuition is not expected to exceed $1,250 for the six-day program.
Q. Where will the facility be located?
A. The NFA will be located immediately adjacent to the existing National Naval Aviation Museum on Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, an active and secured US Navy military installation.
Q. How large will the facility be?
A.The NFA is a 102,000sf structure of four stories, complete with berthing for up to 264 students and a full service kitchen and cafeteria style dining facility. The facility is designed with organic planning, meeting and simulation space as well as video and teleconference capability.
Q. How much capital has been secured, and how much will construction cost?
A. The capital campaign for physical structures is complete and cash is on-hand (~$26.5M) to support construction. Ground was broken in June 2009, and construction is ongoing. See our streaming construction camera feed under “The Facility” on the Academy’s website.
Q. How much money still has to be raised?
A. All funds required for construction have been raised and are on-hand. However, additional funds in the amount of ~$10M still are needed to support continued conceptual development, facilities outfitting, and initial startup costs. As of November 2009, we are approximately halfway to this goal!!
Q. How long is the NFA program?
A. The primary educational program will be aimed at 7th through 12th grade students, and run from Sunday afternoon through Friday afternoon (6 day/5 night program). 3 day/2 night Family and Adult, Corporate Team Building, Teacher Training, and other more specialized programs are being developed as well.
Q. What is the NFA’s vision?
A. National Flight Academy becomes the world leader in aviation-inspired learning experience!
Q. What is the NFA’s Mission?
A. The National Flight Academy’s vision, like that of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, is simply “To Inspire and Educate.” The Academy’s mission centers on igniting and flaming our youth’s passion for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) as a best-in-the-world educational adventure using aviation and space as the teaching medium and Naval Aviation as the motivating force and brand. In long form, our missions is: To inspire and educate future generations of leaders through positive exposure to naval aviation; we blend the culture and excitement of aviation with 21st century technology and core competences in an exclusive and entertaining/engaging immersive environment to provide a best-in-the-world learning adventure.
Q. What is the NFA’s relationship to the Foundation and Museum?
A.The NFA will be a totally self-supporting Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) under the existing private, non-profit Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, supported by tuition fees, scholarships, grants, and on-site revenue generating opportunities. The Foundation also directly supports the National Naval Aviation Museum, owned and operated by the United States Navy.
Q. Are positive role models and core values built into the educational program?
A. The syllabus and curriculum will be dynamic and exciting, designed to be grade specific and age appropriate while woven with positive role models and founded on sound core values and ethics. We are currently in discussing formal partnership with Herdt Consulting on embedding their “DyLead” leadership development curriculum as an organic part of the NFA experience.
Q. Where will the teenagers sleep?
A. Student Aviators attending the NFA will sleep in berthing spaces designed to mimic junior officer staterooms found on aircraft carriers. 6 student aviators will be assigned to a room in the facility’s third and fourth floors based on age and gender. Twenty-four hour security and overnight Residence Assistant (RA) presence in each berthing area will be provided when youth programs are in operation.
Q. What about the security and well-being of my child?
A. Full-time, 24/7 physical and virtual security will be provided throughout the facility when programs are in session. Access to the NFA, especially the berthing and academic floors, are monitored and closely controlled by proximity card readers. Aviators will be issued hotel-room like keys that will allow access to their berthing quads, assigned staterooms, and work and simulator spaces. During program hours, each squadron of 11 aviators will be assigned a full-time staff “facilitator,” and outside of those hours, overnight staff resident assistants, healthcare professionals, and trained security personnel will be available. Common areas and all hallways will be monitored by security cameras. A fully qualified RN nursing staff and six-berth sick-bay is available on-site, along with storage and administration of specialized medications. Safety and medical care will be based on requirements set forth by the American Camping Association.
Q. Will persons with physical challenges be able to attend?
A. Yes. The facility is fully designed per the Americans with Disabilities Act, and will allow full inclusion in all facets of instruction. Minimum required physical standards are currently under review.
Q. What is the difference between “serious games” and “games”?
A. Serious games denote games, but games with a "clearly defined" and "worthy purpose". In the case of the NFA, serious gaming employed will be clearly rooted in measurable STEM objectives. The syllabus, curriculum and mission scenarios are designed and written by professional educators with backgrounds in formal Instructional Systems Design (ISD).
Q. How many and what kind of staff will support the NFA?
A. The NFA staff will consist of roughly 40 full-time support staff, consisting of security, maintenance, operations, and hotel (berthing, food service, and janitorial services) management functions. An additional educational facilitator staff, consisting of a mix of full- and part-time employees (load dependent) will interact directly with student aviators throughout their stay, and will include professionally certified and experienced secondary-school educators.
Q. Is Distanced Learning part of the NFA program?
A. Distance learning is an integral part of the National Flight Academy vision. Our facility will house a high-tech broadcasting studio wherein curriculum taught to the on-campus student aviators can be shared via on-demand, web-based learning, extending the program’s reach to thousands of classrooms and millions of students in over 20,000 secondary school systems around the nation.
Q. How can I support the NFA?
A. Sponsor the NFA tradeshow booth for 2009; fund a component of the NFA facilities; support ongoing conceptual development and validation; and promote Simulation and Immersion Centers in your community schools. Please see our sponsorship links on our webpage.
Q. What can family members of attending aviators to do in the Pensacola area?
A. Parents will be encouraged to accompany their teens to Pensacola and be present for the graduation ceremony. During the week their child is enrolled in the National Flight Academy parents will have the opportunity to partake in a specially designed program which allows them to experience the sites and delights of the 450-year-old city of Pensacola, including the National Naval Aviation Museum and some of the world’s best beaches.
Q. Will there be scholarship and grant opportunities for interested teens?
A. Scholarships and grants will provide for a demographically and geographically diverse student population. Based on current planning, scholarship programs will be offered to student aviators based on academic performance, financial needs or special needs.
