Truckee High School junior Hunter Simpson already knows he wants to major in product design in college and make outerwear for skiing and skating. Sophomore Carson McCarran wants to become an architect. And senior Eli Yale has his eyes toward a career in biomedical engineering.
These students are part of Truckee High’s Project Lead the Way, a nationwide program focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. The project-based curriculum encourages students to apply their knowledge for future careers, which prepares them for college and makes them competitive with their peers across the nation. And because the program is hands-on and relevant, the students find the subjects fun.
“I’m stoked I found this,” Simpson said of his Introduction to Engineering Design class. “It’s good to understand what I’m getting into and that I’m stoked for it. You move at your own pace. It’s like a college class.”
Junior Olivia Yale, who has doctors and nurses in her family and whose brother Eli is also in the program, said she likes that she has the opportunity to take classes that introduce her to the medical field.
“In the past, the electives haven’t been as challenging or enriching,” said Olivia, who is currently taking Principles of Biomedical Science. “It’s an introduction into base knowledge and to take further classes.”
Her teacher, Jenny Evers, said she introduces a plethora of medical professions to students, including a phlebotomist, medical examiner, and toxicologist, to expose them to careers they may not have previously considered.
“What we are really doing is preparing them for a career,” Evers said. “By the fourth class, hopefully we are narrowing their future and what they want to do.”
Truckee High School began the Project Lead the Way program last year with one class as a trial and now offers programs in engineering and biomedical science, and is adding more courses each semester. The goal is to add a capstone class where students do an internship in the community or apply their knowledge in a practical way.
“It’s allowing more options for students. Having them be competitive in this nation and jobs that are existing,” said Truckee High Assistant Principal Logan Mallonee.
Truckee is one of more than 6,500 schools in the nation that offer the program. To be able to participate, teachers must attend a rigorous two-week training program to learn all the material for the entire school year. Four teachers at Truckee High are currently certified in Project Lead the Way’s curriculum. Classes are also capped at 24 students per class.
Project Lead the Way provides the curriculum and supplies for all the courses for a fee. Thus far, Truckee Tahoe Unified School District has spent $65,000 in initial costs, $30,000 for computers, and upwards of $10,000 annually. Although it is expensive, the district touts the benefits of the program.
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“It gives them [students] inspiration on what lies ahead in life beyond high school. That is what we are trying to build in students. That they walk away with the skills they need,” said Dave Curry, TTUSD executive director of education services. “We really think these pathways provide that for these kids.”
Some of the fastest growing careers from 2010 to 2020 are in engineering, healthcare, and science, according to employment projections from California’s Employment Development Department. The agency projects that home health aides will increase by 54 percent, medical scientists by 41 percent, and jobs in engineering by 20 percent. Because of these statistics, the school district wants students to be prepared for the future.
In addition to Project Lead the Way, Curry said the district is looking at other career-oriented classes and programs. A computer technology class will be offered next year, and Curry would like to implement something for the hospitality and tourism field. He has also applied for a grant from the California Department of Education to design a public service and safety program in the schools. While North Tahoe High School does not have the Project Lead the Way program, it does offer classes in engineering, as well as culinary arts, which culminates in an internship.
“We look at the forecasts and we try to put together programs that kids will walk into,” Curry said. “Not only are they learning different topics, but how those apply. And that is what college really does.”
The curriculum also does away with traditional teaching tools like textbooks, pen and paper, and lectures. Students now learn with computers and experientially. Instead of the teacher telling them how to solve a math problem, they figure it out on their own by building bridges and cars on the computer to see how trigonometry and other math skills apply to engineering. The curriculum in Project Lead the Way is laid out on the computer and each lesson plan is accessible by both teacher and student.
“Teachers are out of the equation. I don’t lecture anymore. I’m not spoon-feeding them the information. I am making sure they are getting the information,” said Paul Smith, who teaches human body systems as part of the biomedical program. “They seem to love it. It’s totally different. This is probably the way education is going to go.”
The hands-on nature of these new classes at Truckee High allows students to learn at their own pace and to problem solve on their own, much like a college class.
“It’s a huge paradigm shift in education. I’ve never seen any program that actually works, and I think it actually works,” Smith said. “I’ve been teaching for 30 years, and I’ve never taught this way.”
And the students think it is pretty great, too.
Said Eli Yale: “I definitely know a lot from this class that I wouldn’t learn from standard curriculum.”
