Why the CEO of an Aerospace Company Opened a Charter School for Rural Kids

Paul Campbell grew up in rural Kentucky and is currently the CEO of a successful aerospace company just outside Oklahoma City in Seminole. He is also dedicated to improving rural education. Campbell helped lead the effort to open a new charter school next fall because he struggles to find local employees qualified to work in his company and credits education for his success as “just a rural kid from Kentucky.” The school, which faced considerable opposition from the local school board but was supported by many parents and community members, will be the first of what he expects will be a multi-state network of rural charter schools. It will serve middle and high school students with grades 9-12 attending school on a college campus and carrying a load that is, by design, heavily focused on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math).