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Project Lead The Way on Tuesday unveiled research about its curriculum in the Los Fresnos school district, saying it shows a clear advantage for PLTW students in life and careers beyond high school.
In 2016 the Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District launched the PLTW curricula in kindergarten through fifth-grade, middle school and high school. The curricula was expanded in 2021-2022.
And on Tuesday LFCISD welcomed PLTW into its board room to celebrate the program’s success. The district showcased two sixth-grade students from Resaca Middle School and a pre-kindergarten classroom at nearby Los Fresnos Elementary, where students were sprawled out in groups on the floor learning a framework for computer coding using a robotic mouse and 3-foot by 3-foot grids.
“They have to figure it out. There’s math involved. They have to problem-solve. There’s a lot of things going on in order for the mouse to get to the cheese,” their teacher Blanca Ordaz said enthusiastically.
Asked whether kids that age are capable of the concepts involved, she didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely.”
David Dimmett, PLTW interim president and CEO, said Los Fresnos quickly saw the program’s success and deepened it.
“You added a Gateway program in middle school and the biomedical pathway in high school, and I’m convinced that students in your programs are not just seeing that connection between elementary, middle and high school, but they are building a pathway that’s going to extend way beyond high school,” Dimmett said.
“You’re preparing them for life and for careers. They’re going to have a competitive advantage over their peers that don’t have those experiences, so that’s why we’re here today is to celebrate the work that you’ve done, formalized in the impact profile. It’s been embargoed until today, and we’ll be pushing it out to our network so they can see the great work you’re doing right here in Los Fresnos.”
Project Lead The Way is a nonprofit organization that develops curricula in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, for use by U.S. elementary, middle and high schools.
“We believe all students – beginning at a young age – need access to real-world, applied learning experiences that empower them to gain the skills they need to thrive in college, career, and beyond. That’s why our pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science provide hands-on learning opportunities from the first day of pre-kindergarten through senior year. PLTW’s research-supported approach empowers students to discover and explore interests, imagine and design solutions to real-world challenges, and become independent, confident problem solvers,” PLTW says on its webpage.
Dimmett, who began his career in education 25 years ago and has been with PLTW for the past 11, said though PLTW has been the subject of much research, the report released Tuesday represents the first time the organization has conducted research of its own.
“A year ago we made the commitment to start our first-ever research team at PLTW,” Dimmett said. “So I told the team, ‘let’s do the research, let’s go out and find the best examples of our work all across the country, let’s learn from them and let’s come back and share their experiences with educators all across the U.S.”
The report, titled “Expanding Possibilities —Student Growth Driving STEM Growth,” is a narrative about Los Fresnos’ experience since adopting the PLTW model.
The report says Los Fresnos adopted the PLTW curriculum in 2016-2017 with one module of PLTW Launch per grade in kindergarten through fifth grade; four units of PLTW Gateway across seventh and eighth grade; and one course each in high school of PLTW engineering and PLTW computer science.
The classes reached 4,896 students, 46% of the student population.
In 2021-2022 the program expanded to 5,939 students, 57% of the total. PLTW launch increased to two modules per grade in kindergarten through fifth grade. PLTW Gateway increased to eight units across grades 6-8. High school programs increased to nine courses across PLTW biomedical science, PLTW engineering and PLTW computer science.
At Tuesday’s celebration, Resaca Middle School sixth graders Mara Marroquin and Natalia Yanez spoke.
Marroquin said as a sixth grader it might seem like she has all the time in the world, but she is realizing that “six short years from now” she will be graduating from high school and “worrying about what colleges will take me in.”
