Recently we learned Pine View School is involved in a collaboration with “Project Lead The Way” (PLTW), a technical program for K-12 and beyond. We learned that the SCSB has PLTW programs in place at Sarasota Polytechnical High School, Riverview High School, McIntosh Middle School, and Heron Creek Middle School.
After recent inquires to Dr. Covert regarding PLTW, he responded by email on May 9, 2016:
“Project Lead the Way is a program already in existence, and has a proven track record of success. The first course we anticipate offering will be Introduction to Engineering Design. Dr. Todd Bowden is the Executive Director of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and we will be working with him and Mr. Cantees on the program design and training aspects. As soon as a timeline is developed, I will be happy to share that with parents. STEM and STEAM approaches are two of many options which our students at Pine View access within our mission statement. Pine View is not changing or modifying our focus in any way on meeting the needs of every gifted learner.”
We would like to know more about this program and what it means for Pine View, as well as the timeline for implementation and costs. In the meantime, we will refer you to this FAQ link for PLTW implementation.
We look forward to learning more about what our principal stated in the May 2016 issue of Pine Views;
“Pine View students and parents in the coming year will notice changes and improvements on campus- from buildings and infrastructure to curriculum and content programming.”
It would seem that “Project Lead The Way” is one of those new changes. What are your thoughts about Pine View School for the Gifted offering a technical program?
If you feel stakeholders should have input, send us an email so your voice can be heard.
PVA has announced that they will be hosting a forum for students, teachers, parents, and the community to give input; we hope this occurs before Pine View takes any unilateral action.