PLTW Recognizes Partners’ Outstanding Contributions to Students and Teachers
ORLANDO – Chevron and Lockheed Martin received Partners of the Year honors from Project Lead The Way (PLTW) on Monday in recognition of their exceptional support of PLTW students and teachers and their commitment to increasing access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and career-learning experiences.
PLTW President and CEO Dr. Vince Bertram recognized the partners during the nonprofit organization’s national conference, PLTW Summit 2017, which brings together 2,000 educators, students, university leaders, and business and industry leaders from across the country.
“PLTW's Partner of the Year Award recognizes a PLTW partner for the highest commitment to helping PLTW fulfil its mission of empowering students with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in our evolving world,” Dr. Bertram said. “The PLTW Partner of the Year is a company or organization that has gone above and beyond to expand student access to PLTW programs and transform teaching through PLTW Professional Development. Additionally, the Partner of the Year lives out PLTW’s approach to learning through their partnership – engaging PLTW students in real-world, hands-on learning opportunities and helping to connect them to the world of work. We are proud to work with Chevron and Lockheed Martin and grateful for their work.”
PLTW collaborates with college, university, nonprofit, and industry partners to transform classrooms and create real-world, career-learning experiences for students. These learning experiences provide opportunities for students to expand their skills, connect and build relationships with mentors in their communities, explore careers and industries, and have an impact on the world around them.
Through its partnership with PLTW since 2009, Chevron has worked with PLTW to bolster STEM education in communities throughout California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington D.C., and West Virginia.
In 2014, Chevron also helped fund the enhanced development and expansion of the Innovation Portal, a free and open-source platform open to students, teachers, and project mentors that enables students to showcase their work and share it with mentors, universities, and businesses. The company is also the founding sponsor of the Engineering Design Competition, hosted on the Innovation Portal. The competition challenges students to address a problem in their community, recognizes and rewards outstanding student projects, and highlights the importance of engineering design that solves real-world problems. The theme of the 2018 PLTW Engineering Design Competition, now open to students, is packaging and delivery.
“Chevron is honored to receive this award from Project Lead The Way,” said Blair Blackwell, manager, Education and Corporate Programs at Chevron. “Our innovative partnership has brought rigorous, project-based engineering curriculum to more than 100 schools in 10 states to encourage students to pursue STEM education and careers.”
Since 2007, Lockheed Martin has partnered with PLTW to address the nation’s critical need for future engineers, computer scientists, and math- and science-trained professionals by supporting PLTW Launch, PLTW Gateway, and PLTW Engineering programs in urban school districts, including District of Columbia Public Schools, Orange County Public Schools, Fort Worth Independent School District, Denver Public Schools, and Huntsville City School District.
In addition, through Lockheed Martin’s STEM education outreach initiative – Engineers in the Classroom – employees from Lockheed Martin volunteer in the PLTW classrooms that the organization supports, acting as role models and mentors while building ongoing relationships with students in the areas where these engineers live and work. The company also has a high school engineering internship program for PLTW Engineering students in the Arlington Independent School district in Texas. The program is in its fourth year, and to date, more than 70 students have participated.
“Inspiring young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is not only important to Lockheed Martin – it is critical to maintaining our nation’s competitive advantage,” said Brad Fisher, Lockheed Martin director of community relations. “We’re honored to be acknowledged for our work with Project Lead The Way to help develop a new generation of innovators who will change our world.”
Expanding access to career-learning opportunities in STEM is essential to preparing students for careers in high-demand, high-growth fields. The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that employment in STEM occupations is projected to grow by 8.9 percent from 2014 to 2024, compared to 6.4 percent growth for non-STEM occupations. Furthermore, the National Science Board reports that STEM knowledge and skills are used in many jobs not traditionally thought of as STEM occupations. In 2010, about 5 million U.S. workers were officially classified as having a science and engineering job, while an estimated 16.5 million college-educated individuals working in areas such sales, marketing, and management reported needing at least a bachelor’s degree-level of STEM training to fulfill their work responsibilities.
About Project Lead The Way Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is a nonprofit organization that provides a transformative learning experience for K-12 students and teachers across the U.S. PLTW empowers students to develop in-demand, transportable knowledge and skills through pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science. PLTW’s teacher training and resources support teachers as they engage their students in real-world learning. More than 10,500 elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia offer PLTW programs. For more information on Project Lead The Way, visit pltw.org.
About Chevron Chevron (NYSE: CVX) is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies. Through its subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide, the company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemicals and additives; generates power; and develops and deploys technologies that enhance business value in every aspect of the company’s operations. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.
About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 97,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
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Project Lead The Way
Jennifer Erbacher
(317) 669-0871
jerbacher@pltw.org
Chevron
Melissa Ritchie
(925) 842-0455
mritchie@chevron.com
Lockheed Martin
Anna Viterisi
(301) 897-6149
anna.viterisi@lmco.com