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Two dozen LAUSD adult students will share $10,200 in scholarship money for  aircraft mechanics classes operated by the district’s Disvision of Adult and Career Education.

Clay Lacy Aviation is offering the scholarship money based on the students’ higher education goals, academic achievements and community involvement at the Aviation Center (AV-Center) at Van Nuys Airport, which is part of the North Valley Occupational Center.

LAUSD has daytime aviation mechanics classes, and they just reinstated the once-thriving night classes at the AV-Center that had been eliminated three years ago due to budget cuts. The night classes opened this fall and are still available for enrollment.

“We are excited to help develop the next generation of aircraft mechanics and attract more high-skilled, high-paying jobs to Los Angeles,” said Clay Lacy Aviation president and CEO Brian Kirkdoffer. “Aircraft maintenance is one of the most important jobs in the aviation industry. This program is ranked among the top in the nation and enables graduates to land great jobs working on private, commercial and military aircraft.”

The scholarship money goes to tuition, books, tools and certification exams. Clay Lacy Aviation, which has a six-acre development at the airport, has a long history of hiring graduates from the AV-Center. Last year, the aviation company donated a Learjet and Gulfstream to the school for instructional purposes.

“Clay Lacy Aviation’s annual scholarship fund is another example of its generous contributions to aviation education spanning over four decades,” Elizabeth Penuela, assistant principal of Operations at North Valley Service Area of Adult Schools, said in a statement. “Clay Lacy Aviation has greatly benefited our program and students throughout the years.  This is an exciting time in adult education.”

The AV-Center open in 1973 to adults and high school seniors over age 16. It offers a combination of classroom lecture and shop-oriented projects. Students can work on propeller aircrafts, jets and helicopters. The AV-Center is the only public aviation mechanics school of its kind in California, and one of the few that is open to high school students and located at an airport.