Economy
San Antonio's Ingenious Plan To Get Kids Good Jobs Out of High School
By bringing employers and schools together, the Alamo Academies suit the city's job needs and give students a head start.
Over the next week, we'll be exploring the economy of San Antonio in depth. Check back for more stories.
Frank Pena doesn’t have much time to chat, because he’s repairing a jet engine. The 24-year-old technician at Lockheed Martin is a big guy, but even he looks tiny compared with some of the engines—from the Air Force’s C-5 to the commercial 727—arrayed in the factory. Pena is here, and not flipping burgers at McDonalds, because of a decision he made when he was a sophomore in high school. He enrolled in the Alamo Area Aerospace Academy.