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Article Excerpt
Project Lead the Way
by Michelle EauClaire
Educational program aims to forge new generations of engineers.
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a non-profit organization which strives to promote pre-engineering courses for middle and high school students. The program partners with educational institutions, trains the instructors that will be teaching and implementing the curriculum, and acts as a bridge between educational institutions and private businesses.
The Charitable Leadership Foundation of Clifton Park, NY, provided initial funding of the project, based on collaboration with Richard Blais, currently vice president of state and corporate relations for PLTW. Blais conceived the idea of a pre-engineering curriculum while chairman of the technology education department of an upstate New York school district. Having worked as both a secondary school teacher and as an engineer, he had recognized the growing demand for engineering professionals in the U.S.
The high school curriculum was first introduced to 12 New York State high schools in the 1997-'98 school year, with the goal of being in 50 upstate New York high schools by 2005. A middle school component was field tested in 2000. The program is now found in over 2,200 schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia, with another 600 schools entering the network in September 2008.
The mission is to utilize its partnerships with schools to increase the quantity and quality of engineers graduating from the educational system and contribute to the continuance of America's national prosperity.
The middle school program, Gateway to Technology, is a stepping stone to expose students to a broad overview of the field of technology, focusing on developing stronger math, science and technology skills. The complementary high school program, Pathway to Engineering, uses project-based, hands-on experience to teach key elements and skills of engineering and technology-based careers.
There is an engineering research component which requires a community sponsor and mentor. The students work...
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