Aspirational Aeronautics

The Aviation High School opened in 2004 in its first temporary quarters, with a freshman class of 100 students. Gilman became the school’s first principal and led the drive to find a permanent home. “It took us almost a decade to get the funding,” she says. $43.5 million was raised from public and private sectors, including the State of Washington, the Port of Seattle, Boeing, and Alaska Airlines. Recognizing the major contribution of Sherry and James Raisbeck of Seattle’s Raisbeck Engineering, the new school opened in fall 2013 and was renamed Raisbeck Aviation High School (RAHS).