Press Release

WARSAW — Warsaw Community Schools is celebrating several achievements related to Project Lead The Way.

School District Recognition

Warsaw Community Schools’ staff recently announced that the school district has been recognized as a 2020-2021 Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Distinguished District for providing board access to transformative learning opportunities for students through its PLTW programs.

This distinction includes WCS’s eight elementary schools: Claypool, Eisenhower, Harrison, Jefferson, Leesburg, Lincoln, Madison and Washington STEM Academy. WCS is one of just 17 districts across the United States to receive this honor. PLTW is a nonprofit organization that serves millions of preK-12 students and teachers in schools across the U.S.

“We are so thankful for the hard work and dedication of our staff that this recognition represents,” said Dr. David Robertson, WCS assistant superintendent of elementary education. “The team here at WCS continues to work tirelessly to ensure all students receive the highest quality education.”

The PLTW Distinguished District recognition honors districts committed to increasing student access, engagement and achievement in their PLTW programs. To be eligible for the designation, WCS had to have had 20 percent or more of its students in each grade, preK-12, participate in a PLTW program during the 2019-20 school year.

Through PLTW programs, students develop in-demand knowledge and skills that they will use both in school and for the rest of their lives, on any career path they take. As PLTW students’ progress through grades preK-12, they are empowered to engage in problem-solving and process thinking, develop technical knowledge and skills, build communication skills, and explore career opportunities. WCS offer PLTW Launch (preK-5), PLTW Gateway (6-8), and PLTW (9-12) Computer Science, Engineering and/or Biomedical Science.

Warsaw Community High School/Warsaw Area Career Center Recognition

Warsaw Community High School and Warsaw Area Career Center staff recently announced their recognition as a 2020-2021 PLTW Distinguished School.

It is one of just 204 high schools across the U.S. to receive this honor for providing bored access to transformative learning experiences for students through PLTW. PLTW is a nonprofit organization that serves millions of preK-12 students and teachers in over 12,200 schools across the U.S.

The PLTW Distinguished School recognition honors schools committed to increasing student access, engagement and achievement in their PLTW programs. To be eligible for the designation, WCHS/WACC had to meet the following criteria in the 2019-20 school year:

• Have 95 percent of students take the End-of-Course (EoC) assessments;
• Had 25 percent of students or more participate in PLTW courses, or of those who participated in PLTW, at least 33 percent took two or more PLTW courses;
• Offer and had students enrolled in at least three PLTW courses;
• Had strategies and procedures in place that support reasonably proportional representation with regard to race, ethnicity, poverty, gender and can support such claims with relevant data.

Lakeview Middle School Recognition

Warsaw Community Schools’ staff recently announced that Lakeview Middle School has been recognized as a 2020-21 PLTW Gateway Distinguished School.

It is one of just 158 middle schools across the U.S. to receive this honor for providing bored access to transformative learning opportunities for students through PLTW Gateway. PLTW is a nonprofit organization ate serves millions of preK-12 students and teachers in schools across the U.S.

“It’s a great honor to be part of the PLTW program, and to be able to offer these sorts of exploratory courses at the middle school level,” said Justin Weaver, PLTW teacher at Lakeview Middle School. “Each day, students are given challenging projects that require hands-on effort, creative problem solving, perseverance, and teamwork, and ultimately leave with design skills they can apply in any career.”

“Lakeview is honored to be named a PLTW Distinguished School,” said Amy Sivley, former Lakeview Middle School principal. “Mr. Justin Weaver, PLTW teacher at Lakeview, does an outstanding job and he pushes students to very high levels. The PLTW classes offered at the middle school level give our students a solid foundation for future engineering courses. We are excited to offer the PLTW classes, as well as a variety of other elective classes, to our students while in middle school giving them the chance to explore different interests as they begin thinking about their future.”

The PLTW Distinguished School recognition honors schools committed to increasing student access, engagement and achievement in their PLTW programs. To be eligible for the designation, Lakeview Middle School had to meet the following criteria:

• Have more than 50 percent of the student body participating during the 2019-20 school year;
• Have 25 percent of students advancing to high school participate in two or more units;
• Offer at least one PLTW Gateway unit at each grade level;
• Have strategies and supports in place that support reasonably proportional representation with regard to race, ethnicity, poverty, gender and can support such claims with relevant data.

“It is a great honor to recognize Warsaw Community Schools’ district, Lakeview Middle School and WCHS/WACC for their unwavering commitment to provide students with an excellent educational experience despite the unusual circumstances and unique challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presented to the educational landscape this past year,” said Dr. Vince Bertram, president and CEO of PLTW. “They should be very proud of their achievements in unlocking their students’ potential and equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in life beyond the classroom no matter what career path they choose.”