For students and graduates of August Martin High School, the
name’s significance far surpasses letters emblazoned on the
front of a school building. It exemplifies legacy, tradition and
achievement. It represents a man that everyone that walks
through the doors can look to as an example of triumph. In 1971,
the school’s named was changed from Woodrow Wilson to August
Martin, honoring the country’s first black commercial pilot. The
Jamaica high school currently finds itself is on the list of
schools planning to be turned around, meaning the school may
close and reopen under a new name. “If we allow August Martin to
be taken off this building, what it does is simply does away
with history,” said Ricky Davis, a commercial pilot and teacher
of aviation at the school. “It does away with the struggle of
our ancestors.” The predominantly black school is just three
miles from John F. Kennedy International Airport and the only
school that allows students the opportunity to man an aircraft.
Approximately 300 students a