Reba Gilman, Principal and CEO of Aviation High School, has received the Museum of Flight's 2008 Pathfinder Award recognizing pioneering achievements in flying, engineering, education, operations, and manufacturing.

The award honors individuals or teams from the Pacific Northwest for significant contributions to aeronautics and astronautics. Previous recipients include William Boeing, Sr. and former astronaut (and current Museum of Flight CEO and President) Bonnie Dunbar.

At the Highline School District board meeting, Gilman said, "This is truly an honor. It is overwhelming and humbling.

"But, it is not about me, it is about the staff and community."

Some businesses that partner with Aviation High paid for 70 students to attend the black-tie award ceremony.

Awardees are selected by representatives of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Air Force Association, Civil Air Patrol, Federal Aviation Administration, The Museum of Flight, Ninety-Nines, Navy League, OX-5 Aviation Pioneers, Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Society of Experimental Test Engineers, University of Washington, and the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Gilman is the founding principal of Aviation High School, a small college-prep high school where teaching and learning is framed in the context of aviation and aerospace. The curriculum emphasizes STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and aims to develop the talents of young people to take leadership roles in a technology-based society.

Aviation High was named a Model School this past year by the International Center for Excellence in Education, one of only 23 schools in the United States to be chosen. The school is administered by Highline Public Schools but is open to students from across the Puget Sound Region.

The award lauds Gilman as a "quintessential and entrepreneurial education leader" for conceiving the concept for Aviation High School and developing it into a school that is a national model for innovative education.