VWCS, Vantage leading way in tech ed.

Van Wert independent/contributor content

Using a high-tech approach to education, a partnership between two local schools is providing a springboard for area students interested in math and science careers with the schools’ Project Lead the Way (PLTW) programs.

A similar partnership can also be seen between PLTW and the National Engineers Week Foundation to raise awareness for the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education and educate communities about specific actions they can take to support STEM education programs.

Over the past couple of years, Van Wert High School and Vantage Career Center have partnered to offer a pre-engineering curriculum to those students interested in the STEM fields. The 2010 graduating class marked the first class of students to complete the entire four-year pre-engineering course of study offered here.

Van Wert teacher Bob Spath, who heads up the local PLTW program, regularly hears back from these former students now enrolled in engineering colleges and universities throughout Ohio and Indiana. “I enjoy getting the phone calls, emails, and even a few of them who stop by my house, to discuss how much PLTW has helped them in college courses so far,” Spath noted.

One of those former students is a bioengineering major at the University of Toledo, while two other students are majoring in engineering at the University of Cincinnati.

One of the UC students, Tyler Munroe, also received an engineering scholarship Braun Industries has established for a student completing the PLTW program.

A few of the other students in the local PLTW program are majoring in mechanical and electrical engineering at Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, Trine University and the University of Toledo.

“This program is meeting a need of producing engineers and a labor force that can compete with other countries in the STEM fields,” Spath noted.

The PLTW Engineering and Biomedical Sciences programs offer students an array of advantages, from career readiness and hands-on experience to college preparatory-level classes, labs, and creative exercises.

“Our programs are designed to appeal to all students, from those already interested in STEM-related fields, to those whose experience in the sciences and math has been less comprehensive or who find themselves uninterested in traditional STEM curricula,” Spath explained. “PLTW classes are hands-on, based in real-world experience, and fun for students and teachers. We set the highest standards for rigorous, focused, and engaging study, developing students’ innovative, collaborative, cooperative, and problem-solving skills.”

Spath added that, for students interested in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics, Project Lead The Way is a proven program that offers many opportunities.

“Van Wert High School is fortunate to have this nationally recognized program in place,” Spath concluded.

Other information on Project Lead the Way can be found at its website: www.pltw.org

For more information on the local program, contact the Van Wert High School guidance office or Spath at b_spath@staff.vwcs.net.