By: Maria Allard | Roseville-Eastpointe Eastsider | Published May 2, 2026
ROSEVILLE — On April 28, first hour students in the drone class at Roseville High School entered the school’s Lower Flex Learning Center for their daily lesson.
Teacher Scott Trice gave them instructions as they picked up their drones. They practiced flying low to the ground and also went through an obstacle course. A second group of students are enrolled in the one-semster class in sixth hour.
Roseville Community Schools brought the drone class to the district last year.
“This is an introductory class. This is our second full year of running the program. I saw a purpose to have it here,” Trice said. “I thought it was a useful skill the kids could take from the class if they choose to use it for work.”
A drone is an aircraft operated remotely by a pilot or autonomously by onboard computers. The devices are used to capture aerial photos and videos, conduct surveillance, survey land, inspect infrastructure, and transport items. In recent years, many businesses, industries and government agencies have started using drones. Trice said drones are used in agriculture, to find missing people, and to inspect bridges and wind turbines.
The students are learning how to properly fly the drones and how to control them. Another part of operating a drone is to correct maneuvers when you fly off course. Trice said the remotes that operate the drones are just “like a joystick for a video game.”
“There are two thumb controls,” Trice said. “We start with our left thumb, which is up and down. We switch over to our right thumb, which is forward, back, left and right.”
To practice, the students do figure eights, race courses, obstacle courses and even do a simulation exercise that mimics herding cattle. Since the students are new at using drones, they do crash into each other often. Flying low, which they did last Tuesday, is a skill to help them with control.
“It’s a lot of work in progress,” Trice said.
Some students have operated the drones for school activities outside, including pep rallies and football practices.
“We record videos and it goes to our iPad,” Trice said. “I download it and give it to our journalism class. They edit it and use it for announcements.”
The students are graded primarily on their participation in class and their ability to display their skills. The students keep individual flight logs in which they record every flight they take.
The students use three different drone sizes. The smaller drones conduct five-minute flights. The middle-size devices complete flights in seven to 10 minutes. A 15-minute to 30-minute flight can be accomplished with the larger drones. Once students complete the class, they can apply for a Federal Aviation Administration drone license to fly recreationally.
“They can’t make money,” Trice said. “They can fly as long as it is not a restricted zone.”
Trice said two local restricted zones are Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township and the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command in Warren.
Trice pointed out that batteries in a drone “don’t last very long,” so the students have to be mindful of that.
“The drone will lose power,” he said. “It will definitely affect how it flies.”
To help the students better understand drones, Trice brings in guest speakers from various agencies periodically.
Senior Ayden Danielson recorded the pep rally and football practices via the drone. He especially liked the way images of the tug-of-war game turned out. He tried to record in small increments so the journalism students didn’t have a big editing job with the footage.
“I think it’s really fun,” Danielson said of the class. “I feel like it opens us kids up to other options. It will open up things to do outside of school.”
“It could be a valuable skill learning to fly something. It’s interesting how they work,” sophomore Jeremy Parys said. “Practicing more is the obvious way of getting better. I like the smaller ones because it’s easier to connect to it.”
Senior Caitlin Jankowski, who is in the journalism program at RHS, enrolled in the drone class because she wanted to learn something new and get some experience with a hands-on project.
Richard Lynn wanted to enroll in a fun class during his senior year; hence, the drone class.
“It’s first hour and something I look forward to, coming to school,” he said. “It is kind of different to learn to fly the drones. Once you practice it, you get the hang of it more.”
Trice also teaches two introduction to business classes, one accounting class and one coding class.