Dimensions - March/April 2008 - 7

Joining Forces with Project Lead the Way® Richwoods High School in Peoria, Illinois, in partnership with PSA-Dewberry, has been participating in Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a national program to raise middle and high school student awareness and interest in the field of engineering. The high school program is a fouryear curriculum that introduces students to the scope, rigor and discipline of engineering. The program combines traditional mathematics and science coursework with foundation and specialized engineering criteria. Combined, this highly focused prospectus builds groundwork for additional formal education as well as post-high school employment opportunities. “PLTW is a program that allows students to make the connection between academics and the work world,” says Ann Hart, PLTW program instructor and coordinator for Richwoods High School. “Students are able to work on concepts and with software that is similar to what is found in the engineering workforce. Students incorporate math, art, writing, problem solving, marketing, and science into concepts that can be found in ‘real life’ opportunities. They walk away from the class with critical thinking skills and a sense of what the basics of the engineering profession can contain.” PSA-Dewberry recently hosted students from Richwoods High School at the firm’s Peoria office, where students saw, first hand, Nationwide Program Aims to Raise Student Interest in Engineering Students are briefed by PSA-Dewberry team members on the crew’s strategy and process of demolishing the former fieldhouse to make way for Bradley University’s new athletic performance center. the day-to-day tasks of registered architects and engineers. Chuck Bartee, the firm’s mechanical group leader, has been an integral part of PSA-Dewberry’s support for PLTW, and an advocate for the program. “Through this program we are able to promote and create interest in the fields of science and engineering for middle and high school students. The partnership among middle schools, high schools, colleges, business, and industry provides these students with real and relevant knowledge so that they will be encouraged to pursue an engineering program in college,” says Bartee. In addition, Ray Lees, a principal with PSA-Dewberry’s Peoria office, is currently working with the Peoria School District 150 to engage the “Gateway to Technology” curriculum, a precursor program to PLTW geared toward seventh and eighth grade students, and incorporated into the new Math, Science, and Technology Academy curriculum. He has also worked to link the high school program at Richwoods to college level programs at Illinois Central College, Bradley University, and the University of Illinois. The program linkage provides interested students with the opportunity to begin their engineering-oriented studies in the seventh grade, and progress through their college careers, greatly enhancing the education and development of future engineers. PLTW is actively investing in the future of the engineering industry. It opens doors for students who may have otherwise never considered engineering as a career. As early as middle school, students are given practical knowledge that can help lay the groundwork for designing their futures. 7

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Dimensions - March/April 2008

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