Project Lead The Way
Karen Wilken, Program Manager at the Kern Family Foundation in Wisconsin, visited the Clearbrook-Gonvick School on Tuesday. She talked with students, teachers Mr. Ostrom and Mr. Vettleson and Superintendent Lehse about Project Lead the Way, the pre-engineering program at Clearbrook-Gonvick. The Kern Family Foundation granted the district $53,000 over three years for implementing the program and training staff.
Ms. Wilken complimented the district on their implementation of the program and said she was going to use them as a “poster child” when talking with other schools. The program at Clearbrook-Gonvick includes all middle level students, as well as a high school component, and is the only school in Minnesota to offer both components. Both middle level and high school programs started this year. The first high school class is Introduction to Engineering, which will be followed by Principles of Engineering next year, Digital Electronics in 2007 and Computer Integrated Manufacturing in 2008. A high school rotation will be established so students have access to four pre-engineering courses.
Junior High students were enthused about their upcoming races with model cars they have designed. After doing initial designs on the computer, they shaped their cars out of wood and were installing wheels during Ms.Wilken’s visit. They also were recording data about the weight of their vehicles. Additional data, such as initial velocity, will be recorded as part of the project.
Mr. Vettleson, the high school teacher, told Ms. Wilken that there would be considerable interest in the upcoming high school classes, especially since all middle level students would be exposed to the pre-engineering program this year. His Introduction to Engineering class includes guest speakers who are engineers, as well as visits to TEAM Industries and Bemidji State University. The purpose of Project Lead the Way is to interest students in the field of engineering and to help them succeed in post-secondary engineering programs. Students who score 85% or higher on their final exam in high school courses will be able to transfer credits into colleges throughout the nation, including Duke, Stanford and Purdue, since PLTW is a nationally-recognized curriculum.
During her visit to northern Minnesota, Ms. Wilken also visited the Cass Lake and Bemidji Schools, both of which are implementing PLTW this year. The Ingenuity Frontier is actively promoting the PLTW program as part of their efforts to build Northwestern Minnesota as the center for technology in the state. Representatives from Ingenuity Frontier met with Ms. Tadlock in Bemijdi prior to her visit to Clearbrook-Gonvick.
The Clearbrook-Gonvick program is also supported by the TEAM Foundation and has received support from the Garden Valley Foundation. Students, parents, staff and the School Board are enthused about the program and the opportunities it provides.
Maintained by the Students & Staff of CG
