Westfield Voke receives $1 million grant for new aviation program

Date: 12/19/2014

WESTFIELD – Westfield Vocational-Technical High School (WSVTH) has received a $1.1 million grant to help fund the Airframe and Powerplant aviation program set to begin in the fall of 2015. Massachusetts House and Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki presented the school with the capital equipment grant on Dec. 5.

Stefan Czaporowski, WSVTH principal, said  this grant gives life to the new program.        

“It’s the difference between starting the program or not. A million dollars is a million dollars. That’s a lot of money,” he said.

Czaporowski said that this grant money, among other things, will be used to purchase the materials needed – airplanes. The school has been looking into a Newport 17 and a couple of Cessnas.

In addition to the planes, each student needs a toolkit for classroom work.

“These aren’t like Craftsman toolboxes that you go and buy at Sears. Each toolkit alone costs $2,000, but again, you’re working with the best equipment,” Czaporowski said. “When you’re working on people’s planes, you want that.”

Despite the cost of the program, the payoff for the students comes in the form of an industry that desperately needs Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified employees. With this program, students will graduate high school with that certification.

“Once we brought the idea up, we looked at the jobs report and the need for that,” Czaporowski said. “Clearly, you want to offer something that there’s jobs in, and these are good paying jobs too, without any college needed.”

Czaporowski and others took a trip to New Hampshire to see a similar program at Nashua Community College, where they discovered “that the people involved in aviation are very passionate about their field,” he said. They also realized the unique opportunity that the aviation program will bring.

While at Nashua Community College, a professor approached Czaporowski, saying that he wished he could be where WVTHS was. With 30 businesses in the aviation industry in the area, Bradley International Airport within reasonable proximity and the strong working relationship already set with Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport, the school’s location is ideal.

“We’re in a hub. It really just makes a lot of sense,” Czaporowski said.

This hub means that students will be able to take part of their classes at Barnes. While the general curriculum will still take place on the school’s campus, engine work will be conducted in Hangar 2 at Barnes. To become FAA certified, students need 1,900 contact hours, so the ability to use the hangar is crucial, though it needs to be renovated before the fall.

Czaporowski said that calls have already been coming in about the program from parents, and he expects that interest to only grow as the program comes more to life. He is planning on a class of 20 to begin, and though it is a small number, the class will be paving the way for future classes at WVTHS, as well as across the state.

“To potentially be the first one in the state is really cool,” Czaporowski said. “Working with MassDOT too, I think that they’re looking at us to see how successful we are. If we’re successful, they’d like to open two more schools on the eastern part of the state.”

WVHS is already well on its way to establishing the first high school aviation program, but for Czaporowski, the trailblazing is just an add-on to seeing the students succeed, excel and find a path they are passionate about.

“I’m excited for the opportunity for students to go into a field that will provide them, I believe, with a successful and fulfilling life. This is great work. Every person I’ve met in aviation is passionate about it,” Czaporowski said. “Whether it comes to fixing a wing or fixing an engine, they’re just so passionate. I think that if you’re passionate about what you’re doing for your employment, that’s really half the battle. If you like going to work every day, it’s huge.”