Norman Public Schools Breaks Ground On New Aviation Academy Facility

Norman Public Schools broke ground on Wednesday on a state-of-the-art facility for its Oklahoma Aviation Academy.

The program aims to introduce students to the aviation industry before they graduate high school.

It currently works out of portable buildings, but district leaders say a new facility will give the program a permanent home at Max Westheimer Airport in Norman and open it up to students all over Oklahoma.

“There are other aviation academies out there, but there are no aviation academies like this one,” NPS Superintendent Dr. Nick Migliorino said.

The district is looking to pave the way in concurrent education, with a focus on feeding one of Oklahoma’s biggest industries: aviation.

“What's to come? This building. Yeah, it's a building. But it's going to be a catalyst,” Migliorino said.

The new and improved Oklahoma Aviation Academy will be mere miles from Tinker Air Force Base and the Air Traffic Control Academy, neighbors with a university aviation and aerospace program, and situated directly on an active airfield.

“Norman is the place for this to happen,” Migliorino said.

Renderings show what the facility will look like when construction is finished.

“There's going to be a lot of really interesting things going on, like flight simulators, space to build a new airplane, air traffic control, stuff like that,” Will Hyde, a Norman High School senior, said.

Hyde was part of the inaugural class at the aviation academy and he is now planning to pursue a future in aviation business.

“I mean we got a great opportunity, and we're here to take full advantage of it,” Hyde said.

Students learn anything and everything in aviation from building planes to flying them, and soon that opportunity will be available to students across the state.

“The name Oklahoma Aviation Academy is not synonymous with Norman Public Schools. We want students, no matter where they are. If they're in Oklahoma and they want to be a part of an aviation program, fantastic! Let's figure it out,” Migliorino said.

Construction is set to begin immediately and should be completed by the fall of 2026.