INDIANAPOLIS (May 8, 2012) - In response to extraordinary growth and interest, Project Lead The Way, the leading provider of STEM curriculum to middle and high schools in the United States, announced Tuesday that it will reorganize the structure of its national Engagement Team to better serve districts, schools, teachers and students.
“It’s a landmark moment for our organization,” said PLTW President and CEO Dr. Vince Bertram. “The growth that PLTW is experiencing is extraordinary, and this reorganization will provide more opportunities for us to support student learning across the country.”
Bertram first noted the upcoming reorganization at an internal meeting of State Leaders and Affiliate Directors in mid-April. The reorganization, Bertram said, will allow PLTW to better serve existing schools and nurture new schools.
The current PLTW model divides the country into six regions with six regional directors and a committed, strong group of state leaders and directors of affiliate universities. PLTW will embark on a hiring period over the next several months to better serve the growing network of schools and students. Beginning with a reorganized regional structure, the six existing regions will become four distinct regions: the East, Midwest, West Central, and West. Four new regional vice presidents will oversee each of the regions. The regions will also include new directors of school engagement, a position that will function differently than the existing regional director role. Six to eight directors of school engagement will be working within each region, responsible for a narrower geographical area. They will work to support existing schools and bring new schools into the PLTW network. The reorganization will strengthen PLTW’s ability to support the work of its state leaders and affiliate directors—supporting schools, acting as liaisons to state departments of education, and providing leadership and professional development.
“The new model will allow us to dramatically expand our capacity, allowing more students in America to have access to Project Lead The Way,” said Dr. Rex Bolinger, PLTW senior vice president and chief engagement officer. “It will more than quadruple the current number of people in the field working with schools, narrowly focusing their work as compared to our current model.”