Don Laird instructing some faculty on flying the Mavic Pro drone.
Donald Laird, Department Chair of Computer Studies at Santa Rosa Jr. College, hosted a Drone Symposium for college faculty interested in drones on July 30, 2018. Pam Gutman, the DSN—Advanced Transportation and Logistics, assisted Laird in recruiting faculty, sharing curriculum, and demonstrating specific drones.
College faculty and Deans from the Bay Area attended the day-long symposium to learn about Laird’s drone program and what other colleges in the region were offering in their drone programs.
In the Bay Area, seven community colleges currently offer drone-related curriculum, housed in a variety of departments:
Electric School Bus Training Project |
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Funded School Districts |
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| Applicant | County | CC Region | Bus Award | Infrastructure Award | Total Award |
| Savanna School District | Orange | Los Angeles/ Orange | $291,524 | $60,000 | $351,524 |
| Lindsay Unified | Tulare | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $660,216.76 | $120,000.00 | $780,217 |
| Twin Rivers Unified | Sacramento | Greater Sacramento | $3,246,958.80 | $600,000.00 | $3,846,959 |
| Chico Unified | Butte | Northern Inland | $319,283.38 | $60,000.00 | $379,283 |
| Durham Unified School District | Butte | Northern Inland | $538,976.76 | $120,000.00 | $658,977 |
| Fall River Joint Unified | Shasta | Northern Inland | $330,108.38 | $60,000.00 | $390,108 |
| Lake Tahoe Unified | El Dorado | Greater Sacramento | $269,488.38 | $60,000.00 | $329,488 |
| Natomas Unified School District | Sacramento | Greater Sacramento | $957,850.14 | $180,000.00 | $1,137,850 |
| Ravenswood School District | San Mateo | Bay Area | $997,686.14 | $180,000.00 | $1,177,686 |
| Redwood City School District | San Mateo | Bay Area | $874,570.65 | $180,000.00 | $1,054,571 |
| Sonoma Valley Unified School District | Sonoma | Bay Area | $660,216.76 | $120,000.00 | $780,217 |
| Vacaville Unified | Solano | Bay Area | $660,216.76 | $120,000.00 | $780,217 |
| Woodland Joint Unified | Yolo | Greater Sacramento | $2,332,841.66 | $420,000.00 | $2,752,842 |
| Arcadia Unified School District | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $291,524.00 | $60,000.00 | $351,524 |
| Baldwin Park Unified School District | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $1,650,545.00 | $300,000.00 | $1,950,545 |
| Inglewood Unified School District | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $990,327.00 | $180,000.00 | $1,170,327 |
| Los Angeles Unified School District | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $3,277,270.00 | $600,000.00 | $3,877,270 |
| Lynwood Unified School District | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $994,224.00 | $180,000.00 | $1,174,224 |
| Mountain View Elementary School District | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $1,012,410.00 | $180,000.00 | $1,192,410 |
| Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $1,166,096.00 | $240,000.00 | $1,406,096 |
| Oroville Union High School District | Butte | Northern Inland | $660,218.00 | $120,000.00 | $780,218 |
| Rowland Unified School District | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $3,374,700.00 | $600,000.00 | $3,974,700 |
| Sulphur Springs Union Elementary School District | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $1,821,550.00 | $360,000.00 | $2,181,550 |
| Thermalito Union Elementary School District | Butte | Northern Inland | $1,639,720.00 | $300,000.00 | $1,939,720 |
| Whittier Union High School District | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $2,783,030.00 | $600,000.00 | $3,383,030 |
| Alisal Union School District | Monterey | Bay Area | $330,108.38 | $60,000.00 | $390,108 |
| Anaheim Elementary | Orange | Los Angeles/ Orange | $2,486,532 | $480,000 | $2,966,532 |
| Anaheim Union HSD | Orange | Los Angeles/ Orange | $3,330,534 | $600,000 | $3,930,534 |
| Antelope Valley Schools Transportation Agency | Los Angeles | Los Angeles/ Orange | $1,166,096 | $240,000 | $1,406,096 |
| Cajon Valley Union | San Diego | San Diego/Imperial | $330,109 | $60,000 | $390,109 |
| Chawanakee Union School District | Madera | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $674,940.00 | $120,000.00 | $794,940 |
| Chula Vista Elementary | San Diego | San Diego/ Imperial | $3,277,270 | $600,000 | $3,877,270 |
| Colton Joint Unified | San Bernardino | Inland Empire | $291,523.55 | $60,000.00 | $351,524 |
| Escalon Unified School District | San Joaquin | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $660,216.76 | $120,000.00 | $780,217 |
| Escondido Union High School District | San Diego | San Diego/ Imperial | $674,940 | $120,000 | $794,940 |
| Fontana Unified | San Bernardino | Inland Empire | $3,301,083.80 | $600,000.00 | $3,901,084 |
| Garden Grove Unified School District | Orange | Los Angeles/ Orange | $1,966,362 | $360,000 | $2,326,362 |
| Hanford Elementary | Kings | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $1,648,160.40 | $300,000.00 | $1,948,160 |
| Hanford Joint Union High | Kings | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $330,108.38 | $60,000.00 | $390,108 |
| Hemet Unified School District | Riverside | Inland Empire | $2,621,816 | $480,000 | $3,101,816 |
| Holtville Unified School District | Imperial | San Diego/ Imperial | $330,109 | $60,000 | $390,109 |
| Kern County Office of Education | Kern | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $1,012,408.14 | $180,000.00 | $1,192,408 |
| La Mesa-Spring Valley School District | Madera | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $3,000,425 | $540,000 | $3,540,425 |
| Liberty Union High School District | Contra Costa | Bay Area | $327,726.88 | $60,000.00 | $387,727 |
| Linden Unified School District | San Joaquin | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $330,108.38 | $60,000.00 | $390,108 |
| Madera Unified School District | Madera | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $1,650,545.00 | $300,000.00 | $1,950,545 |
| Ocean View | Ventura | South Central Coast | $660,218.00 | $120,000.00 | $780,218 |
| Oxnard Union High | Ventura | South Central Coast | $990,325.14 | $180,000.00 | $1,170,325 |
| Pajaro Valley Unified | Santa Cruz | Bay Area | $2,486,527.72 | $480,000.00 | $2,966,528 |
| Pleasant View Elementary | Tulare | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $660,216.76 | $120,000.00 | $780,217 |
| Riverbank Unified | Stanislaus County | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $660,216.76 | $120,000.00 | $780,217 |
| Roberts Ferry Union | Stanislaus County | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $330,108.38 | $60,000.00 | $390,108 |
| Sacramento City Unified | Sacramento | Greater Sacramento | $2,911,625.48 | $360,000.00 | $3,271,625 |
| Salinas City Elementary | Monterey | Bay Area | $330,108.38 | $60,000.00 | $390,108 |
| Salinas Union High | Monterey | Bay Area | $330,108.38 | $60,000.00 | $390,108 |
| San Jacinto Unified | Riverside | Inland Empire | $327,727 | $60,000 | $387,727 |
| Santa Maria Joint Union High | Santa Barbara | South Central Coast | $330,108.38 | $60,000.00 | $390,108 |
| Sequoia Union High School District | San Mateo | Bay Area | $1,077,956.00 | $240,000.00 | $1,317,956 |
| Stockton Unified | San Joaquin | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $660,216.76 | $120,000.00 | $780,217 |
| Taft City School District | Kern | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $327,726.88 | $60,000.00 | $387,727 |
| Traver Joint Elementary School | Tulare | Central Valley/ Mother Lode | $319,283.38 | $60,000.00 | $379,283 |
| Ukiah Unified | Mendocino | Northern Coastal | $621,631.93 | $240,000.00 | $861,632 |
Totals | $74,566,781 | $88,426,781 |
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Many of the attending colleges reported that they are interested in starting drone-related courses and programs. These colleges included: College of Marin, Laney, Los Medanos, Merritt, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma Colleges.
While interest is high, there is very little labor/demand data available indicating where the jobs for drone-related skills are concentrating.
A broad spectrum of industries is utilizing drones in various aspects of their operations, like agriculture, construction, early responders, event managers, fire and safety, forestry management, news and broadcast media, photography, and real estate. However, there is not yet a TOP code in LaunchBoard for drone-related occupations.
To dig a little deeper, Gutman ran a Burning Glass report for the San Francisco Bay region on job postings for drones. Over the past 12 months, there were 387 job postings with ‘drones’ in the job description. The only occupation with a substantial concentration of job postings was software developers for drone technologies—66 postings or 17% of total postings. The next 10 occupations had 10-23 drone job postings. The remaining 77 occupations primarily reported less than 5 drone related postings.
Several colleges commented that, based on these findings, it might be premature to develop a drone program since it is still an emerging technology. But some of the early community college leaders in drone-related programs have decided to work together—developing complementary programs in the same regional location, e.g., Gavilan, Mission, and West Valley Colleges. Their coordination on curriculum and program development appears to be successful and may be a potential model for other districts.
Laird invited a photographer/reporter from The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Chad Surmick, to share how he utilizes drones in his day-to-day assignments. Surmick shared several published articles and videos of specific stories where using a drone was very helpful in reporting a story dramatically. His visuals of the Santa Rosa fires with drone footage were very impactful.
Surmick shared his opinion that in certain industries, employees need to develop drone-related skills to provide more value to their employers. He does not see drone technologies creating new occupations, To Surmick, drones are simply a new tool and employees should obtain training in drone technologies to upskill to retain their current jobs.
Faculty also debated whether drones represented new jobs and occupations or whether drone-related skills were just new skills for existing positions. There was no definitive conclusion on this topic by the end of the day.
Following Surmick’s segment, Laird gave faculty a tour of his facility and a review of his drone inventories. Attendees finished out the symposium by flying Laird’s DJI Mavic Pro in a designated safe zone on campus.
