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Haysville proposes Project Lead The Way for elementary tech specials; three-year rollout planned
Summary
District staff proposed adding Project Lead The Way (PLTW) to elementary technology specials across six schools with a phased three-year rollout, summer teacher training and grant-supported materials; middle-school PLTW electives were reported as successful.
District instructional staff proposed adopting Project Lead The Way (PLTW) for elementary technology specials across all six Haysville elementary schools, with a phased three-year rollout starting with summer training and a planned classroom launch in August.
Program summary and reasons: Dr. Amy Novotny (presenter) described PLTW as a STEM-based curriculum that emphasizes problem solving, collaboration and hands-on science with computer science alignments. "Project Lead the Way is a STEM based program, where students would learn more, about more science," she said, and added that the program focuses on deeper inquiry and soft skills "because they have so much technology, they're not talking anymore. They're not problem solving. They're not able to work together."
Implementation plan: The district plans a gradual rollout: train technology teachers and media specialists during the summer (PLTW launch training is a two- to three-day session), implement initial modules (the plan covers about 18 of PLTW's 40 launch modules over three years), and start on a limited number of computer science and science modules per grade. The proposal calls for using the technology special to deliver PLTW modules and for media specialists to “front-load” story/context in classrooms before hands-on application in tech specials. The district also said some elementary rooms could be reconfigured to create flexible STEM spaces.
Middle-school experience and early pilots: PLTW is already in use at Haysville West and at the middle-school level; staff reported strong student engagement in the middle-school PLTW electives and a separate "We Build It Better" manufacturing pilot that filled quickly and generated a waiting list.
Costs and funding: Staff said PLTW offers grant opportunities that individual buildings can pursue to offset materials and equipment costs. The district intends to cross-reference PLTW modules with Kansas science and computer-science (ISTE) standards to avoid duplicative instruction and to free classroom time for deeper instruction in science or other subjects.
Board action: This was a presentation (first reading/initial proposal). No formal vote was recorded; principals and district staff have given preliminary approval to proceed with training and a phased rollout.
Next steps: Staff plan follow-up visits to neighboring districts running PLTW, finalize a training schedule, and begin teacher training in summer before a school-year implementation in August.
