On Monday, March 6 Vaughn was notified that it would receive an $85,000 grant from JetBlue. The grant will enable Vaughn to purchase a RedBird MCX full-motion flight simulator training device to expose 300 New York City area high school students and 300 current Vaughn students to flight and related career possibilities. The simulator will also enhance Vaughn’s capacity for its current 220 aircraft operations students.
 
The award was announced at the fourth annual JetBlue Foundation granting event at the New York Hall of Science on Friday, March 31. Vaughn and five other educational organizations from around the US were awarded grants to further science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and aviation-related education.  The program included remarks from Joanna Geraghty, president of the JetBlue Foundation, and symbolic check presentations in the Great Hall.  A lunch reception followed in which grantees mingled and networked with JetBlue leadership, uniformed crewmembers and volunteers. After the ceremony JetBlue provided an educational tour of its airport operations at JetBlue Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, including the control tower, ground operations and aircraft. Vaughn was one of six grants made and only two in New York.