Aviation High School kicked off a major capital campaign at an event last week at the home of James and Sherry Raisbeck.

The Raisbecks and their foundation have pledged $4 million toward the effort to construct a facility for the school at The Museum of Flight in Tukwila.

Aviation High is temporarily located in the Olympic interim school in Des Moines. The district hopes to open the school as Raisbeck Aviation High School on Museum property in 2012.

James Raisbeck is a world-renowned aerodynamicist and entrepreneur. He is most well known for founding Raisbeck Engineering Inc., which engineers and manufactures performance improvement systems for thousands of business and commercial aircraft worldwide.

The Port of Seattle has contributed $10 million toward the new facility. The school hopes to raise an additional $10 million from private entities and $14 million from state and federal sources.

Aviation is an innovative public school that teaches a college-preparatory curriculum through an aviation theme. The school is administered by Highline Public Schools but accepts students from across the Puget Sound region.

Aviation was the state's third-highest scoring high school in last year's WASL exams. It was the top scoring school on the 10th grade writing WASL.

Unlike other high-scoring schools, 20 percent of Aviation High School's students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The museum has had a long-standing partnership with the school.

In 2006, the museum's board invited Aviation to be part of the expansion of its campus. The new school is to be located adjacent to the museum's air park.

For more information, go to www.aviationhs.org