Kapolei High School in Kapolei, Hawai’i, is a leader in providing access to high-quality educational opportunities.
Principal Elden Esmeralda believes it is the school’s responsibility to introduce students to the types of opportunities that inspire them, no matter what roadblocks are in the way. After attending the PLTW Summit in 2014, he saw the power of PLTW programs, and it was clear that Project Lead The Way could inspire his students.
“Our belief at Kapolei High School has always been to offer programs that students find interesting, and if we did not have that program, to find a way to offer it,” Esmeralda said. “It is our hope that through PLTW we will find the hidden talents in so many students.”
Since implementing the program at the beginning of the 2014 – 15 school year, one of the surprising outcomes he has seen has been the immediate popularity of the program.
“I think of one of the biggest successes is that the course is not just for engineer types,” he said.
As part of the school’s PLTW implementation, Kapolei HS Assistant Principal Neil Bloomberg attended the first PLTW Hawaii State Conference on Nov. 21 at the University of Hawai’i – West O’ahu. He also attended Core Training with his staff.
“As a curriculum coordinator, I really enjoyed the summer training,” Bloomberg said. “It was clear that the Master Teacher who was conducting our engineering training had dealt with the issues that new teachers of the program face, and he was a wonderful resource for our staff who attended.”
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