Education & Classes in Chapel Hill

Beyond whisking passengers in comfort and style on charter flights, the team of FAA-certified flight instructors at FlightGest, Inc. trains aspiring aviators to soar among the clouds themselves. Operating out of Raleigh-Durham Airport, the teachers conduct proficiency training and lessons in everything from introductory flights to private pilot’s licenses aboard a fleet of fully-equipped aircraft such as Cessna 172 and Piper aircraft. Both new and experienced pilots can also practice executing maneuvers and handling difficult situations inside the FAA-approved single- and multi-engine flight simulators that are equipped with a full instrument panel.

The instructors at Inspired Palette help students expand their artistic boundaries and dissolve their expressive barriers during BYOB painting classes. Allowing up to 25 people per class, Inspired Palette’s team imparts instruction that ranges from step-by-step guidance to standing back so that creative impulses can flow unimpeded. To help students relax and enhance the social atmosphere, the studio surrounds participants in walls adorned with green stripes and pink glitter, while in the background, classic, upbeat songs pump through the stereo. The staff also coordinates private parties and Just for Kids classes, which show youngsters how to finger-paint hyperrealism.

The Professional Bartending Institute sets aspiring bartenders apart from the pack with in-depth courses that cover all aspects of the job. Certified bartenders helm hands-on workshops in a simulated-bar atmosphere, honing students’ speed and organizational skills while teaching them to mix cocktails, comply with state alcohol laws, and provide customer service that goes beyond sticking their hand in drinks to ensure they’re wet. Once students have completed their training and obtained their bartending certificates, the center’s job placement experts help place them in bar settings that suit their credentials and personalities.

Though many students come to Mathnasium having fallen behind their classmates, a mathematically advanced child sparked the learning program’s creation. As founder Larry Martinek’s young son, Nic, developed an appetite for higher-level math concepts, Larry found himself developing an entirely new teaching language to explain them in an age-appropriate way. The kind of instincts he sought to build up couldn’t be nurtured by drills and rote memorization. Instead, they required a deeper understanding of the principles at the root of mathematical operations, delivered in a way that grade-school kids could apply throughout their academic careers.

In just a decade’s time, Larry and his team have established Mathnasium centers in most U.S. states and more than a dozen other countries. At each, tutors who earned a 700 or higher on the math portion of the SAT develop custom learning plans for students in grades K–12 based on The Mathnasium Method. The system combines an education strategy of conceptual, tactile, and visual techniques with a curriculum structure that ensures kids can count, think proportionally, and tell the difference between a multiplication sign and a plus sign by scent alone. Tutors allow some time each session to help students with the concepts in their math homework, and the centers regularly check report cards and standardized tests as further measures of progress.

Within the colorful walls of the Academy for the Performing Arts' 10,000-square-foot facility, enthusiastic instructors instill confidence in the leaders and creative thinkers of tomorrow. Kids benefit from small class sizes and a high teacher-to-student ratio during dance classes such as tap, ballet, hip-hop, and cheerleading, or half-day preschool programs that incorporate dance, music, and visual art. Kids aged 2–4 fine-tune their gross motor and social skills while older children can prepare for recitals or become members of the center's dance company.

The academy also keeps parents in shape with adult fitness classes such as boot-camp sessions led by a personal trainer or high-energy Zumba workouts. The crew hosts children during a bimonthly parents' night out that allows adults to take some well-deserved time for themselves and finally engage in a critical debate of Kung Fu Panda.