For Immediate Release
Contact: Jennifer Cahill
(317) 669-0871
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 11, 2014) – Georgia State Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-37) took a first-hand look at the transformative power of Project Lead The Way (PLTW) during a visit to George Walton Comprehensive High School in Marietta, Georgia, on Wednesday. The high school is part of the Cobb County School District and offers the PLTW Engineering program for students in grades 9-12.
First elected to the State Senate in 2010, State Sen. Tippins serves as the chairman of the Georgia Senate Education and Youth Committee. Before being elected to the State Senate, he served for 12 years on the Cobb Board of Education and served three years as chairman of the board.
“It was an honor to have State Senator Tippins visit the Project Lead The Way program at Walton Comprehensive High School,” said Jessica Hooper, PLTW director of policy, advocacy, and research, who accompanied Tippins on his visit. “He is a strong advocate for career and college preparatory programs, and we value his leadership in Georgia.”
During the visit, State Sen. Tippins visited the PLTW Introduction to Engineering Design course, where students were using Autodesk Inventor to create three-dimensional models with appropriate geometric and dimensional constraints from sketches and dimensioned drawings. Tippins also talked with PLTW teacher Brian Benton about the effectiveness of PLTW professional development and the variety of projects his students experience.
“I have never been to a more valuable professional development experience than Project Lead The Way,” Benton told Tippins. “PLTW provides two weeks of intense training, and it’s critical to the success of the course.”
George Walton Comprehensive High School has offered PLTW Engineering for more than 10 years. Hands-on, project-based programs that introduce students to the STEM disciplines in grades K-12 are critical for the future U.S. workforce. Over the next decade, the South will continue to be an area with a great demand for engineers. Georgia also boasts one of the best engineering schools in the world, the Georgia Institute of Technology.
However, the Department of Labor reports that Georgia companies have, in the past, been forced to look to other states to fill at least half of the engineering jobs in the state.
With K-12 STEM programs like PLTW, students in Georgia are able to engage in engineering at a young age and develop the interest and skills critical to take advantage of college and career opportunities in their own backyard, and anywhere around the world. Just this month, the Atlanta-based Goizueta Foundation announced a $1 million grant to Project Lead The Way to expand PLTW’s hands-on STEM programs to elementary and middle schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area, including Cobb County.
For more information on PLTW’s hands-on, project-based STEM programs for students in grades K-12, or to register, visit www.pltw.org/our-programs.
About PLTW Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the nation’s leading provider of K-12 STEM programs. PLTW’s world-class, activity-, project-, and problem-based curriculum and high-quality teacher professional development model, combined with an engaged network of educators and corporate partners, help students develop the skills needed to succeed in our global economy. More than 6,500 elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are currently offering PLTW courses to their students. For more information, visit www.pltw.org.
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