MIDDLESBORO — Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a cooperative initiative that introduces students to engineering and science careers. The progressive program is currently being embraced by the Middlesboro Independent School District (MISD) and the Bell County School District (BCSD), which place great emphasis on advanced math and science studies.

PLTW is part of the national initiative to advance academic achievement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). It is a national pre-engineering program that consists of curriculum spanning middle grades through high school.

The PLTW program takes mathematics and science out of the confined realm textbooks and into the challenges of the real world, demonstrating to students the endless possibilities that are before them.

Through PLTW, students are given the opportunity to receive an enriched education, an understanding of applications of mathematics and science, useful career skills, college credit, and a jump start on a profitable career.

MISD Superintendent Rita Cook commented on the beneficial program.

“Project Lead the Way is a perfect example of how high school and post-secondary education can work together to provide our students with programs of study that are relevant and rigorous,” said Cook. “We are pleased with this great program and will continue to look for more opportunities and partnerships that will benefit our students.”

Cook explained that PLTW is a non-profit organization that works with public schools and higher education to increase the quantity and quality of engineers, and engineering technologists, by providing students with challenging pre-engineering studies. She stated that even if students choose not to become engineers, research has shown that those who participate in these types of classes are better prepared for college programs and are less likely to drop out.

Middlesboro High School (MHS) is currently in the second year of the program. MHS students attend classes at the Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College (SKCTC) Middlesboro Campus during an appropriated part of the regular school day.

Additionally, the curriculum for the PLTW program includes units on topics such Principals of Engineering, Introduction to Engineering Design, Digital Electronics, Engineering Design and Development, and Computer Integrated Manufacturing. Area students can receive dual credit for this program, which means the work is counted toward high school completion and towards his/her college coursework.

BCSD Superintendent George Thompson also spoke about the PLTW program.

“We are offering the Project Lead the Way coursework in collaboration with Middlesboro Independent, Pineville Independent, and Southeast Technical College,” stated Thompson. “We have two state-of-the-art labs — one is at the Southeast campus in Middlesboro and the other is at Bell County High School — that students from all three school districts are accessing to complete the first two courses of the PLTW curriculum.”

Superintendent Thompson explained that over the next two years the educational support group plans to offer all four courses to local students.

Robert Vaughn and Nick Melton, of Vaughn and Melton Engineering based in Middlesboro, were especially instrumental in getting the PLTW program instituted in Bell County.

For more information, visit the program’s website at www.pltw.org.

Adam Young is a Staff Writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. He can be contacted by e-mail at ayoung@middlesborodailynews.com.