Eastside Instructor Named Air & Space Forces Teacher of the Year
Fayette County Public Schools is proud to celebrate Nathan Hoskins, the aviation instructor at Eastside Technical Center! The Air & Space Forces Association of Kentucky has named him Teacher of the Year as a K-12 STEM educator exhibiting exceptional classroom performance, industry partnership, and impact on the school and community.
FCPS and its Career and Technical Education (CTE) staff are committed to fostering innovation and leadership, and Hoskins’ award reflects the strong work we do to prepare our students for the future. “Nathan Hoskins is more than a teacher. He is a mentor, a role model, and a visionary who shows our students that the sky isn’t the limit – it’s just the beginning,” Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said at a news conference.
Hoskins, who has been flying since 1995, joined Team FCPS after the COVID-19 pandemic as a school bus driver. After realizing how few of his riders had experience with aviation, he got permission to invite students and their families to tour the Lexington airport. The principal at Henry Clay High School, whose son rode Hoskins’ bus, later told him about a job opening for an aviation instructor and Hoskins moved into the role at Eastside.
Hoskins’ students are not only earning their pilot certificates and drone licenses but also leaning into the practical side by washing and waxing airplanes. “The students we produce are quite unique and capable of a great many things,” he said, adding, “A mile of runway will take you anywhere in the world, and that’s what we’re trying to do here – provide a world-class education.”
The Air & Space Forces Association of Kentucky has chapters in Lexington and Louisville. Hoskins was selected as the local chapter winner and subsequently for statewide recognition. FCPS hosted the Oct. 7 news conference at the John D. Price Administration Building. Presenting the certificates, pins, jacket, and cash awards were Ret. USAF Col. Mark Roland, president of the Lexington chapter and the Kentucky association; and Ret. USAF Col. Chris Campbell, vice president for education in the local chapter.
Watch the Full News Conference