Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) and DART are joining forces to launch a groundbreaking high school aviation program that will give students the rare opportunity to build a fully operational airplane from the ground up. Beginning in Fall 2025, Pajaro Valley High School students will embark on a two-year journey assembling a Van’s RV-12 aircraft while earning credit toward the FAA Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance Technician (AMT) Certificate.

This bold new Career Technical Education (CTE) Engineering Technology pathway is more than just a class–it’s a career accelerator, positioning students for high-wage jobs in both traditional aviation and the rapidly growing advanced air mobility sector.

A Partnership That Makes It Possible

The program is anchored by the PVUSD-DART partnership, whose collaboration has been essential in bringing this vision to life. PVUSD has embedded the program into its CTE offerings in alignment with the district’s Land, Air, Sea & Space Initiative, a future-facing effort to expose students to cutting-edge industries across multiple domains. By doing so, PVUSD ensures students aren’t just learning about aviation, they’re participating in a broader framework of innovation that connects education to real career opportunities.

DART, with support from the James Irvine Foundation, procured the TangoFlight curriculum and RV-12 kit, helped hire and train instructors, and is organizing student fieldtrips to major aviation hubs like NASA Ames Research Center. As part of the program, students will also visit local emerging tech companies such as Joby Aviation, whose Training Academy is based at the Watsonville Airport–the same site where the CTE program airplane build will take place. Students will see the very same RV-12 aircraft used for training pilots and maintenance technicians; Joby’s use of the RV-12 underscores the strong alignment between this program and industry workforce needs, and highlights Joby’s support for building a robust local pool of aviation talent. This alignment creates a seamless bridge from classroom learning to industry practice, showing students exactly how the skills they gain can translate into real aviation careers.

Several community partners are also playing key roles: the City of Watsonville and Watsonville Municipal Airport are providing facilities, and the EAA Chapter 119 has contributed hangar space and mentorship.

A Pathway with Real Impact

Over two years, students participating will complete one-third of FAA-accredited AMT Certificate requirements while learning aircraft maintenance, aviation safety, aeronautical engineering, and flight systems. The program blends academics with immersive, hands-on learning, an approach that equips students not only with technical skills but also with problem-solving and teamwork abilities. 

The AMT Certificate is a FAA-accredited college program, offered at partner institutions such as Gavilan and Cuesta Colleges, and this pathway gives Pajaro Valley High School students a significant head start toward completion. Traditional aviation careers are in critical demand, and are expected to grow significantly with the introduction of new aircraft classes, including electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) technologies like those being developed by Joby Aviation.

“This is more than a CTE program–it’s a runway to the future,” said Dr. Heather Contreras, PVUSD Superintendent. “Our students will graduate with job-ready skills and the confidence to design, build, and operate advanced technology.”

Josh Metz, Executive Director of DART, emphasized, “The program represents a bold extension of our shared commitment to cultivate an inclusive, future-ready workforce by providing critical on-ramps to high-demand careers with fast-growing companies and sectors across the emerging aerospace economy.”

Looking Ahead

The program launches in Fall 2025, with recruitment for students and an instructor beginning this summer. As part of PVUSD’s Land, Air, Sea & Space Initiative, the RV-12 Airplane Build course is designed to grow over time, expanding into additional mentorships, industry site visits, and partnerships with regional companies.

For Watsonville, this isn’t just a new CTE pathway–it’s a community-wide investment in the future. By connecting education, industry, and civic resources, the program positions local high school students to thrive in one of the fastest-growing industries of the 21st century. The program is set to become a national model for linking high school education to high-wage, high-demand careers in aviation and beyond.

Read more from PVUSD here.