TOLEDO, Ohio — A new partnership is taking Toledo Public Schools students to new heights.
The Aerospace and Natural Science Academy of Toledo is teaming up with Delta Airlines.
Delta Tech Ops is the largest airline maintenance, repair and overhaul provider in North America. The partnership between the airline and TPS will provide students with a learning experience like no other.
"Our students now will get cutting-edge exposure, training, education, internship and potential employment with Delta Airlines," said TPS Superintendent Dr. Romules Durant.
This partnership will allow TPS students the opportunity to receive specific aviation training. At the same time, staff will also receive continuous learning from industry experts.
Durant says this partnership is only the second of its kind in the United States. The other is in New York City.
"NYC is one of the major hubs logistically in the airline industry across the world, and here in Toledo we are competing with them," said Durant.
11th grader Logan Nidek says he wants to become a mechanic at Delta's main hub one day, which is why he's thrilled to be getting this unique, hands-on experience.
"They're going to be giving us equipment as well so we can learn how their planes work instead of just ours down here in our building," said Nidek.
With the training they'll be getting, students will be fully certified in Airframe and Power Plant Mechanics. This normally costs around $50,000 but because of this partnership, it's totally free for students.
"Because of this partnership with Delta, we are getting more opportunities and things to practice on so we can better ourselves for the future," said Nidek.
TPS says Delta Tech Ops is one of the world's most experienced providers with more than 90 years of aviation experience.