U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Sen. Patty Murray visited Aviation High School in Des Moines on July 9th for a panel discussion promoting the educational philosophy behind what Duncan described as "an extraordinary high school."

Aviation High is administered by the Highline School District.

Duncan and Murray praised the school, calling it innovative and effective. They emphasized that education reform should focus on encouraging such institutions.

"My job as a legislator is to write very precise language," Murray said, but legislators must allocate resources to educators who "color outside the lines."

Principal and CEO Reba Gilman told visitors that besides preparing students for college and careers, the school's founders "wanted students to solve real, authentic problems." Thus, she and her staff implemented a program of project-based learning.

According to Aviation students at the gathering, these projects ranged from constructing rockets to optimizing heat shields for chocolate bunnies. McKinstry CEO Dean Allen explained that while these projects might seem silly, "it's really about... the ability to think critically, to solve problems, to work in teams."

Gilman is betting that these skills will enable her students to succeed in the high demand science, engineering, and technology sectors.

"We don't have a football team," she said, but rather the school emphasizes "sports for the mind" such as Science Olympiad and robotics.

Aviation has also demonstrated "a complete commitment on the part of the industry members here," according to Peter Morton, a former vice president with Boeing. Seventy-five engineers and scientists volunteer as mentors, joining classroom discussions and providing input on student projects.

One of Duncan's pet priorities involves recruiting talented teachers from non-education fields, a goal embodied by Aviation teacher Nik Joshi. He described his decision to leave Microsoft to teach physics, astronomy, and math.

"Whenever NPR had a story about education I was yelling at the radio," he said. He noted that Aviation fosters "engaging dialogue between students and teachers," and provides room for teachers to try new strategies without fear of excessive consequences.

Several panelists other panelists discussed the importance of allowing both students and schools room for learning from failure. A student lauded failure as "one of the best things," and Allen said that setbacks are signs that "people are being brave."

Bill Williams, director of the Washington State Parent Teacher Association, agreed that room for experimentation is vital, and suggested that broadly implemented high-stakes standardized testing might jeopardize this freedom.

Some attendees expressed fear that Washington State might not be eligible for "Race to the Top" federal education funding, as it does not authorize charter schools, which Duncan's policies favor.

However, the secretary said that legislators will attempt to fund any program that challenges the status quo. He acknowledged that the country is "facing a huge challenge" in education, but he concluded, "I'm really optimistic... because of schools like this one."

Morton, a member of the boards of Aviation High School and The Museum of Flight, said, "We are doing something special to create a replicable example of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education in a public/private partnership," said Morton. "Every community can organize a similar partnership around their local industries, museums, or other institutions. It is a worthy investment for government agencies at the national, state, and local level to support our example as a contribution to a technologically savvy workforce."

Seventy-seven percent of AHS graduates intend to pursue STEM careers, compared with 48% statewide.

"We want to prepare our students to fill critical jobs in STEM fields throughout the nation," said Gilman. "We believe that the students who attend Aviation High will help our nation remain competitive in an increasingly technology-driven world where the US is not producing technically-trained workers at the same rate as other nations."

Aviation is the only college-prep aviation-themed high school in the Northwest. It is open to students from across the state, and many commute from outside King County. All subjects are taught in the context of aviation and aerospace.

In 2009, Aviation was third among 415 state public high schools on the math and science WASL, though the number of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch was almost 20 times the rate of the number one and two schools.

(Material provided by the Highline School District was included in this story.)