I attended a meeting for Project Lead the Way Program Coordinators recently in Cedar Rapids.
Below are some notes from the meeting. This link will take you to a Google Drive folder with the complete set of presentation slides from the meeting, as well as professional journal articles regarding PLTW in the K-12 classroom. It is accessible if you have a Grinnell school account.
This link will take you to the PLTW site that has a complete overview of the changes coming up in the next couple of years.
 | PLTW has a very active presence in Iowa, as well as across the country. It is a registered non-profit organization, but is considered a vendor by our District and government entities. |
 | Teachers must receive training before teaching PLTW coursework at any level. In our District, PLTW Launch curriculum is taught in our elementary buildings and one of the Gateway courses, Innovators and Makers, is taught in the middle school. Teachers may receive training in one of 3 ways: online, in-person, and blended. |
 | Coursework is routinely updated at all levels. *For the fall of 2020, PLTW Launch will be fully aligned with all of the NGSS Standards. Our District is one of a handful that are piloting new 3rd grade modules this school year. |
 | All PLTW Launch curriculum works with iPad or laptop devices. PLTW is still working on improving its login for students and may include the possibility of single sign-on capability. They understand that this can be a barrier for our younger students. |
 | PLTW Launch curriculum is for grades K-5. The Gateway curriculum includes 10 different exploratory coursework for grades 6-8. The Computer Science for Innovators and Makers is currently offered for our 8th grade students. |
 | There are new Computer Science updates either in place or coming up at the high school level. The CSP course is just one of them. Two non-PLTW computer science courses are currently offered for our high school students. |
 | A new engineering course, Engineering Essentials, is available. Students may choose to begin with the IED course instead, but this new EES course does not have such a high math requirement. Either are strong courses to take ahead of the Principles of Engineering (POE) course. |
 | Our District has received recognition as PLTW Launch Distinguished School in the last two years. |
 | Here is an overview of all of the Project Lead the Way programs available for grades K-12. They include strands for elementary, middle, and high school. |
 | There are 4 Regional PLTW Summits available presented as a workshop conference. |
 | At each Summit, new Launch teachers may be trained. OR Launch teachers may also receive their training through mentoring by a Lead Teacher OR IF there is enough interest (20 teachers) and a host, a training may be offered in the area. |
 | We had a guest from the Iowa Department of Eduction join us via teleconference. A significant topic discussed was the changes to how Perkins V funding could be spent. In the past it had been for high school only. Now, it can include exploratories down to grade 5. There are also specific requirements as to how those teachers are certified. |
