MONROE - Monroe High School students will be able to engineer a new course of study next fall.
The Monroe school board formally and unanimously approved adding the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) curriculum to MHS offerings beginning in the 2010-11 school year. The PLTW program is a nonprofit organization that promotes pre-engineering curriculum for middle and high school students by forming partnerships with the private sector, institutions of higher learning and public schools, according to the PLTW Web site.
That means students will be able to get a close-up, in-depth look at careers in engineering, according to Dan Saunders, the head of the Technology and Engineering department at MHS. They will get a challenging curriculum that in some cases may be eligible for college credit, he said in explaining the program to the board in October.
"It's more than drafting. It's more than AutoCAD," he said at the time.
With that endorsement, the board applied for a grant that would help cover the cost of the program; the board learned earlier this month the district will receive $35,000 over the next three years to pay for PLTW.
The cost to the district will be about $13,200 next year and $12,300 the year after, Saunders said to the board Monday. He said those numbers were "worst-case, high scenarios"; for example, that cost includes $4,000 for PLTW software the district is already using. The cost is expected to be no more than $5,200 in 2012-13, the program's third year; $12,400 in 2013-14; and $7,300 in 2014-15.
In addition to software, the program costs includes training for instructors; reference materials, supplies and equipment.
The goal is to have 40 students enrolled next year, and increase that number each year up to 86 students in the fourth and fifth years.
With board approval, instructors are ready to spring into action to recruit students. Saunders said they have promotional materials explaining the program to students and parents ready to distribute immediately; current eighth-graders and high school students will register for classes next week. Students have already expressed interest in the program, Saunders said.
At this time, the program is limited to MHS, but Saunder's proposal said the district will explore adding PLTW at the middle-school level.
The Monroe school board formally and unanimously approved adding the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) curriculum to MHS offerings beginning in the 2010-11 school year. The PLTW program is a nonprofit organization that promotes pre-engineering curriculum for middle and high school students by forming partnerships with the private sector, institutions of higher learning and public schools, according to the PLTW Web site.
That means students will be able to get a close-up, in-depth look at careers in engineering, according to Dan Saunders, the head of the Technology and Engineering department at MHS. They will get a challenging curriculum that in some cases may be eligible for college credit, he said in explaining the program to the board in October.
"It's more than drafting. It's more than AutoCAD," he said at the time.
With that endorsement, the board applied for a grant that would help cover the cost of the program; the board learned earlier this month the district will receive $35,000 over the next three years to pay for PLTW.
The cost to the district will be about $13,200 next year and $12,300 the year after, Saunders said to the board Monday. He said those numbers were "worst-case, high scenarios"; for example, that cost includes $4,000 for PLTW software the district is already using. The cost is expected to be no more than $5,200 in 2012-13, the program's third year; $12,400 in 2013-14; and $7,300 in 2014-15.
In addition to software, the program costs includes training for instructors; reference materials, supplies and equipment.
The goal is to have 40 students enrolled next year, and increase that number each year up to 86 students in the fourth and fifth years.
With board approval, instructors are ready to spring into action to recruit students. Saunders said they have promotional materials explaining the program to students and parents ready to distribute immediately; current eighth-graders and high school students will register for classes next week. Students have already expressed interest in the program, Saunders said.
At this time, the program is limited to MHS, but Saunder's proposal said the district will explore adding PLTW at the middle-school level.