Project Lead The Way is the nation’s leading provider of rigorous STEM education for elementary, middle and high school students. The curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real-world problem solving. The hands-on, project-based program engages students on multiple levels, exposes them to areas of study like engineering technology, civil engineering and biomedical science and provides them with a foundation for college and career success in STEM-related fields.
Many area schools participate in PLTW, with availability growing rapidly over the past seven years:
This list details PLTW offerings by individual schools and is organized by state and then alphabetically.
KC STEM Alliance typically offers annual professional development events called Teacher Mentor Days, organized by field of study or grade level. For the 2020-21 academic year, these opportunities will shift to more frequent virtual networking opportunities for educators, tentatively called Teacher Talks.
What: A series of Zoom gatherings for middle and high school PLTW teachers hosted by KC STEM Alliance and rotating guest post-secondary or industry partners who will provide 10 minutes of STEM content that complements a different featured PLTW curriculum each session, followed by 50 minutes of smaller breakout sessions where teachers can share best practices, pain points, resources, and tips.
Who Should Attend: PLTW middle and high school teachers. Although teachers associated with each session’s featured curriculum presentation will want to attend, the sessions are open to all PLTW teachers!
When: Sessions will take place from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. every other Thursday this winter and spring:
KC STEM Alliance’s Senior Capstone Innovation model provides targeted events and awards to inspire PLTW engineering and biomedical science senior capstone students; recognize and reward a job well done; and help students connect with resources and mentors in the business community.
Plans for this opportunity for PLTW Civil Engineering & Architecture (CEA) students are pending.
For More Information: Contact Teri Kriege, STEM Outreach Consultant
KC HealthTracks is a community partnership that uses PLTW to bring awareness and opportunities in health science careers to students in 11 under-resourced high schools in seven Kansas City-area school districts. Learn more.
KC STEM Alliance connects volunteer mentors from the business and entrepreneurial community with PLTW students to provide guidance, insight and resources for their senior capstone projects. These connections give STEM professionals and entrepreneurs a way to give back and help industry partners with workforce development initiatives.
KC STEM Alliance provides targeted support for students enrolled in Project Lead The Way, with special attention on activities during the senior year capstone course. Kansas City’s STEM professionals who volunteer and engage with these students make a real difference in their experience. As PLTW enrollment grows, KC STEM Alliance needs more volunteers to support these innovative STEM students, especially this year when in-person events are not available.
KC STEM Alliance convenes quarterly meetings with school and district PLTW coordinators, state education representatives, state and national PLTW leadership and others in the STEM learning ecosystem. During these meetings, educators share best practices and receive policy updates, funding opportunities, post-secondary and certification pathway information, career insights and more.