Engineering program allows students to earn college credits

After three years of hard work and dedication, Vicki Garrett, an instructor at Marianna High School, has secured national certification for a vocational engineering program which offers students up to 15 college credit hours.
The program — Project Lead The Way, or PLTW — has been offered at Marianna High since the 2007-08 school year. But it has only just received the certification needed to offer students college credit.
With Garrett, the new academy’s instructor, leading the way, students at Marianna High will now have the opportunity to apply what they are learning in math and science class to real-life engineering and technology projects.
PLTW is a national organization that provides science, technology, engineering, and math education, or STEM, for middle and high schools. The curriculum is collaboratively developed by PLTW teachers, university instructors, and engineering and biomedical professionals, along with school administrators.
With the education buzz word being STEM, Project Lead The Way is assisting in the district’s attempts to strengthen teaching in these areas.
The primary purposes of the certification program are to recognize schools that have demonstrated a commitment to national standards for the engineering program, and also to provide an opportunity for students to earn college credit.
The college credit, however, is generally only accepted at PLTW-affiliated institutions. There are currently more than 35 affiliate colleges and universities.
“We’ve seen how the PLTW program draws more students to engineering and technology courses, and gets them thinking about college and their career,” said Mary Sue Neves, principal of Marianna High. “We are extremely proud to be PLTW certified, and have the opportunity to offer our students college credit.”
Neves and a team of teachers, staff, students and members of the community completed a self-assessment of the engineering program which lead to a site visit by PLTW certification specialists. The specialists’ visit resulted in the certification.
“Marianna High School has demonstrated its commitment to the quality standards of PLTW’s Pathway to Engineering program, and the real winners are the students,” said John Lock, president and CEO of PLTW.
Neves said in a phone interview Friday that Garrett was the real driver of this effort. Garrett worked for three years to get the program off the ground and nationally certified.
She also completed an intensive two-week professional development course in order to teach the courses.
The four-year program has a different focus each year. The first year is an introduction to engineering design. The second year focuses on principles of engineering. The third year focuses on digital electronics and civil engineering, and the final year on engineering design and development.
Garrett says there are few requirements for entrance into the program. However, students must score at least a three or better on the FCAT math and have at least taken Algebra I.
“The beauty of this program is that our students get to experience how a formula they learned in math class applies to a real project,” Garret said.
Garrett explained that in the engineering academy, there are few lectures. The focus in on hands-on learning.
“With less lectures and more doing, it’s this kind of experience that engages students in fields they might have otherwise never considered,” Garret said.