In late January, third graders in Minnetonka Schools Teacher Suzanne Cutshall’s advanced learning class at Groveland Elementary finished their unit on flight with a real-world experience “that I know they won’t forget,” Cutshall shared. 

Students took a field trip to visit some MHS MOMENTUM Aviation students in the flight classrooms at the school district’s VANTAGE MOMENTUM Building. There, the elementary students interviewed high schoolers about their end-of-semester projects and then got to be co-pilots in the program’s flight simulators. 

“Our unit on flight includes everything from physics forces and airline design to types of planes and a study of birds,” said Cutshall. “In the past, MOMENTUM students have come to visit our classroom at the end of the unit, sharing their experiences in high school aviation courses, but this year, my students had the chance to visit them.” 

Cutshall was surprised by how realistic the flight simulation opportunity was. “It was such a delight for my students to have firsthand training from the high school students and then be given the autonomy to be in charge of a [simulated] plane,” said Cutshall. “The whole experience was a terrific synthesis of their learning. It’s every teacher’s goal, to see things coming together and hear those ‘aha!’s, ‘wow!’s, and ‘ooh!’s.” 

As a component of the unit at Groveland, third graders have a paper airplane air show, where they construct different models to achieve different goals. Learning from high school students and piloting the flight simulators took their experience of physics to the next level with “realism, practicality and impact,” Cutshall said. “I heard students saying, ‘I achieved lift because of the way we angled the plane!’ and—from the high schoolers—‘These kids really know their stuff!’”

Experiential learning is a component of how learning is personalized for students across the district. “Moments like this connect students with where they could go later in life, whetting their appetites for what it might look like to pursue aviation,” said Groveland Principal Andrew Gilbertson.

The most heartwarming moment for Cutshall was her students’ reflection on the bus ride back to Groveland. “They were saying how they couldn’t wait to be in VANTAGE and MOMENTUM when they get to the high school, and that they’re looking forward to future third graders visiting them.”

Cutshall extended gratitude to the high school program coordinators and aviation students for serving as terrific hosts. “They were so welcoming and made the elementary students feel so special. Bridges like this are essential for kids to see where they’re headed and get excited.”

To learn more about the District’s MOMENTUM Aviation program, visit minnetonkaschools.org/aviation