STEM Leaders Visit Model Partnership at Franklin Schools, Toyota
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 3, 2011) — Students in Mrs. Logan’s fifth grade science class at Elkhorn Elementary School know about STEM education, and they showed off their knowledge to state leaders and the nation’s leading STEM education officials last week. One student explained that STEM is not just science on its own; it is science, technology, engineering, and math together. She was working with her fifth grade classmates to build a model Mars rover in preparation for the University of Kentucky’s Engineering Days competition.
Franklin County students are part of a larger effort to increase college and career readiness across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The state has identified Project Lead The Way (PLTW) as one of two accelerators for student success. Department of Workforce Investment Commissioner Beth Brinly noted, “at its heart, PLTW programs give students the foundational skills, in context, to be successful in the workforce.”
The Franklin County example is noteworthy. Elementary students like those at Elkhorn Elementary School get hands-on, project-based learning experiences. These students can move into Gateway To Technology courses taught at Elkhorn Middle School before enrolling in Pathways To Engineering and Biomedical Sciences courses at Franklin County Career and Technical Center.
“Recognition and support for PLTW programs is building across the Commonwealth,” said the University of Kentucky’s Dianne Leveridge. “Kentucky employers and schools see PLTW courses as both transformative learning experiences and preparation for the 21st century world of work.”
Learning for these students does not stop when they graduate from high school. A unique and model program exists between Toyota and Bluegrass Community and Technical College where students, many recruited from PLTW schools across Kentucky, earn a two‐year degree while getting relevant, applied workforce experience. Housed at Toyota’s Georgetown campus, this program connects students to industry expectations and experiences while they learn the core academic content necessary to be effective members of a work team.
"As a global company which must succeed in both the competitive U.S. market as well as across the world, it is critical for Toyota to get not just good talent, but the very best talent," says Dennis Dio Parker, Assistant Manager at Toyota's North American Production Support Center. "PLTW is a key source for new talent in our skilled maintenance work force. Close engagement in cooperative partnerships with our PLTW schools, such as Franklin County, is helping us build a career pipeline that will make our skilled talent stand with the best in the world."
The example in Kentucky demonstrates the important connections between leaders in education, public policy, and industry. School leaders and their advocates are meeting and working with state policy leaders as well as industry partners like the Kentucky Association for Manufacturers (KAM). These relationships are essential for both the short‐ and long‐term success of these schools and the communities they serve.
“What we’ve seen today is really a model for other communities in Kentucky and across our nation,” said PLTW President and CEO Vince Bertram. “These students are articulate, motivated, supported, and engaged. They are excited about learning and prepared for the challenges they will face as adults.”
Focusing on students and their learning is central to PLTW programs.
“Students are obviously the big winners, able to use a curriculum that allows them freedom to come up with their own solution to a problem, while understanding the design process they used to get there,” stated Franklin County Career and Technical School teacher Mark Harrell. “PLTW gives my students direction in life, whether that be engineering college or not. PLTW helps expose these students to life skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. They are also learning soft skills like promptness and organization. Students walk out of a PLTW lab their senior year with the skills needed to be successful in this global economy.”
Background: Project Lead The Way, Inc., a nonprofit organization with 501 (c)(3) tax‐exempt status, is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education curricular programs used in schools. PLTW's comprehensive curriculum has been collaboratively designed by PLTW teachers, university educators, engineering and biomedical professionals, and school administrators to promote critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real-world problem-solving skills in students. The hands‐on, project-based program engages students on multiple levels, exposes them to areas of study that they typically do not pursue, and provides them with a foundation and proven path to college and career success. More than 400,000 students in over 4,200 schools dispersed across all 50 states and the District of Columbia are currently taking PLTW courses. For more information, visit www.pltw.org. Media inquiries relative to PLTW on a national level should be directed to David Dimmett at (518) 925‐8712.
PLTW is in 111 sites across the Commonwealth, including three Kentucky Community & Technical College sites (KCTCS). Twenty high schools in Kentucky offer PLTW’s Biomedical Sciences (BMS) program, and 49 schools offer the Pathway To Engineering (PTE) program, including the three KCTCS. Among middle schools in Kentucky, 42 provide Gateway To Technology (GTT) to their students. Of the 49 schools with PTE, 22 have achieved national certification, which brings added benefits to schools, students, and teachers. Additionally, Kentucky has three nationally recognized middle schools. The Kentucky Department of Education has identified the PLTW program as one of two accelerators for the secondary students of the Commonwealth. PLTW opens the door of option and opportunity for those students who might otherwise overlook a STEM career choice. In 2007, the Kentucky STEM Task Force, chaired by Dr. Lee Todd, University of Kentucky (UK) President Emeritus, recommended the PLTW program as the STEM choice for the state. UK was named a PLTW University Affiliate for Engineering in 2007 and for Biomedical Sciences in 2011. The mission of UK as the University Affiliate for the state is threefold: Education, Credit, and Quality. UK provides Core Training for middle and high school teachers, awards credit to incoming freshmen from certified high schools, and maintains the quality of the program through the certification process. Contact Dianne Leveridge at dleveridge@engr.uky.edu for more information regarding PLTW in Kentucky.
MEDIA CONTACT: Diane Leveridge, (859) 227-3700