High School Leads Way for Future Engineers

By DEBRA LANDIS

PLEASANT PLAINS – A program that amounts to a four-year pre- engineering curriculum for high school students has kicked off at Pleasant Plains High School.

Part of the nationwide “Project Lead the Way” program, the curriculum is designed to encourage students to consider engineering as a career, helping counteract what many in the U.S. deem a critical shortage of college engineering graduates.

A group of nearly 50 ninth-graders from PPHS and New Berlin High School are participating in the program’s first year at Pleasant Plains. PPHS technology teacher Erik Rich, who received special training from Project Lead the Way, teaches the classes at the district’s south campus.

“Project Lead the Way allows students to be exposed to what engineers do. It involves a four-year curriculum, field trips, guest speakers and job shadowing,” Rich said.

Students work with computers and software that professional engineers use to produce actual engineering projects, he said.

Pleasant Plains believes it’s the first district in Sangamon County to offer Project Lead the Way, according to Rich and Pleasant Plains School Superintendent Maureen Talbert. Other schools in Illinois have implemented it, and other Sangamon County schools are discussing offering Project Lead the Way, they said.

“We’re very pleased to be able to offer this program and are excited about its potential to encourage more students to become engineers,” Talbert said.

Students enrolled in a college preparatory math course are eligible for the pre-engineering program. Classes, considered part of a high school’s general education offerings, include an introduction to engineering, engineering design, digital electronics, computer integrated manufacturing, civil engineering and architecture. Courses in biotechnical engineering and aerospace engineering are in development.

Project Lead the Way also offers a curriculum tailored for middle schools.

Many young people don’t understand how varied engineering work can be, from working on highways, bridges and buildings, to technology, manufacturing, and biomedicine, Rich said.

A Project student in another state has a patent pending on a device that “allows you to dial a number from a cell phone to start your car,” he said.

National experts disagree on how critical a projected shortage of engineers is. But they seem to agree it’s in the country’s best interests to encourage young people to excel in math and science and consider careers in engineering.

“Sometime in the next 10 years the supply of engineers and technical experts from American universities is likely to fall short of the demand by the U.S. industry,” says an article on DefenseNews.com. “While some U.S. think tanks and professors pooh- pooh the notion of a shortage, American aerospace and defense executives are mounting serious efforts to attract more engineers, retain older technicians, and get the government to encourage science and engineering skills among today’s youth.”

Not all students may complete the Project Lead the Way curriculum, and they may find that engineering is not of interest to them. But that’s OK, too, say organizers, who say it’s better that students learn this in high school than in college.

And students’ awareness and imagination are spurred, said Talbert.

Added Rich: “The bionic woman on the TV show was created by an engineer.”

Originally published by DEBRA LANDIS CORRESPONDENT.

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