Girls in PLTW Classes Find Success! | PLTW

Christopher Deleon is an award-winning PLTW teacher in Hudson, Wisconsin. He has been teaching for 16 years.

What do water-purification systems on the moon and a Mars artificial habitat (HAB) have in common? These are just two of the projects that girls in PLTW Gateway classes at Hudson Middle School have developed.

Girls in PLTW classes at Hudson Middle School have really made a name for themselves at the state, national, and – in some cases – international level by competing in STEM competitions and applying the knowledge they have gained from their PLTW classes, such as the design process. Over just the last seven years, Hudson Middle School’s female PLTW students have won an estimated $50,000 in awards, honors, and other recognitions by entering STEM competitions sponsored by NASA, the U.S. Army, the College Board, the Siemens Foundation, and others.

Here is an outline of many of their accomplishments and honors:

2016-17

• U.S. Army’s eCybermission Competition: 1st Place in State and Regional Finalists
• U.S. Army’s eCybermission Competition: 2nd Place in State

2015-16

• PLTW Summit 2016: General Session Presenters
  • Presented Mars HAB Project
• Bright Schools Competitions: Top 50 Teams
• U.S. Army’s eCybermission Competition: 2nd Place in State

2014-15

U.S. Army’s eCybermission Competition: 1st Place in State and Regional Finalists

2013-14

Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge: 1st Place in State and 3rd Place in Nation

2012-13

Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge: 1st Place in State

2011-12

• NASA Explorer Schools Student Symposium: Presenters
  • Awarded all-expenses-paid trip to Johnson Space Center
• Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge: 1st Place in State

2010-2011

• NASA’s National Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge: 1st Place
  • Designed water-purification system to be used on the moon
  • Awarded all-expenses-paid trip to Kennedy Space Center as NASA VIP Guests
• NASA Explorer Schools Student Symposium: Presenters
  • Awarded all-expenses-paid trip to Kennedy Space Center
• UW-Madison: Invited to tour campus and speak to engineering team
• World Algae and Biomass Summit: Poster Presenters
• World Water Rediscover: Presenters
  • Shared their project to students all around the world!

2009-2010

• NASA’s National Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge: 2nd Place
  • Designed water-purification system to be used on the moon

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