Project Lead the Way (PLTW):

The PLTW Engineering courses engage students in compelling, real-world challenges that help them become better collaborators and thinkers. Students take from this program in-demand knowledge and skills they will use in high school and for the rest of their lives. 

Level 1: Introduction to Engineering Design

Students are introduced to the engineering design process, applying math, science, and engineering standards to identify and design solutions to a variety of real problems. They work both individually and in collaborative teams to develop and document design solutions using engineering notebooks and 3D modeling software.

Level 2: Environmental Sustainability

Students investigate and design solutions to solve real-world challenges related to clean drinking water, a stable food supply, and renewable energy. Students are introduced to environmental issues and use the engineering design process to research and design potential solutions. Utilizing the activity-, project-, problem-based (APB) teaching and learning pedagogy, students transition from completing structured activities to solving open-ended projects and problems that require them to develop planning, documentation, communication, and other professional skills.

Level 3: Principles of Engineering/Engineering Science

Explore how modern engineers are helping improve the world through diverse engineering fields such as product design, robotics, mechanical design, infrastructure, and sustainability. Learn the principles of engineering as well as the cutting-edge tools of robotics, 3-D modeling, programming, and prototyping that engineers are using to solve problems today and for the future!

Level 4: PLTW Capstone

PLTW Capstone is a capstone course for students who are completing any of PLTW’s high school programs. It is an open-ended research course in which students work in teams to design and develop an original solution to a well-defined and justified open-ended problem. Teams draw on the knowledge, skills, and interests of each member, as they perform research to select, define, and justify a problem. Given this collaboration, team members leave the course with a broadened skillset and an appreciation for learning from their peers. After carefully defining the design requirements and creating multiple solution approaches, student teams select an approach, create, and test or model their solution prototype. As they progress through the problem-solving process, students work closely with experts and continually hone their organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills, creative and problem-solving abilities, and their understanding of the integration of processes such as the design process, experimental design, and the software development process. At the conclusion of the course, teams present and defend their original solution to an outside panel.

For more information about Project Lead the Way, please visit www.pltw.org(opens external link in new window).

GCCISD Career Academies follow the National Career Academy Coalition's National Standards of Practice (NSOPs). Every 4 years, academies go through a rigorous review process to obtain or maintain certified, model or model with distinction status. 

NSOP 1: Mission and Goals
The career academy has a written mission, goals and benchmark. These are developed, reviewed, available, and known by the administrators, teachers, students, parents, advisory board, and others involved in the academy. These include at least the following elements: connect postsecondary education and career; raise and maintain student aspirations; increase student achievement; show a commitment to equity. 

NSOP 2: Academy Design
An academy has a well-defined structure within the high school, reflecting its status as a small learning community.

NSOP 3: Host Community and High School
Career academies exist in a variety of district and high school contexts, which are important determinants of an academy's success. 

NSOP 4: Faculty and Staff
Appropriate staff selection, leadership, credentialing , and cooperation are critical to an academy's success. 

NSOP 5: Professional Development and Continuous Learning
Since an academy places teachers and other adults into roles not normally included in their previous training, providing adequate professional development time, leadership, and support is critical. 

NSOP 6: Governance and Leadership
The academy has a governing structure that incorporates the views of all stakeholders and the leaders of the advisory board. 

NSOP 7: Teaching and Learning
The teaching and learning within an academy meet or exceed external standards and postsecondary entrance requirements while differing from a comprehensive high school by focusing learning around a career theme. 

NSOP 8: Employer, Post-secondary Education, and Community Involvement
A career academy links high school to its host community and involves members of the employer, postsecondary education, and civic community in certain aspects of its operation. 

NSOP 9: Student Assessment
Improvements in student performance are central to an academy's mission. It is important to gather data that reflect whether students are showing improvement and to report these accurately and fairly to maintain the academy's integrity. 

NSOP 10: Sustainability
No new academy functions perfectly. Even well established and highly functioning academies benefit from self-examination and refinement. Ensuring and improving the quality of a career academy requires engaging in a regular cycle of improvement. 

For additional information about NCAC, please visit www.ncacinc.com(opens external link in new window). 

The STEM Academy at Lee High School is a part of our school-within-a-school Pathways in Technology Early College High School.  P-TECH schools are open-enrollment programs that allow students least likely to attend college or who wish to accelerate completion of high school, to combine high school courses and college-level courses while participation in rigorous and accelerated instruction. P-TECH also offers students the opportunity to engage in work-based learning at every grade level. This is a great opportunity for students to earn college credit, college certificates, associate degrees and industry-based certifications for free while still in high school.

Benchmark 1: School Design