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Hazelwood District First In State For Project Lead The Way Certification
The Hazelwood School District is the first Missouri district to receive full certification for its Project Lead the Way® Biomedical Science ™ program. The district received certification in May.
Certification in the PLTW Biomedical Science ™ program means that students in the Hazelwood District who earn 80 percent in the class and score at least 70 percent on the End-of-Course exam will have an opportunity to receive three hours of college credit for each of the courses offered by HSD. A tuition fee will be charged by the university accepting the credit.
A certification team visited Hazelwood Central, Hazelwood East and Hazelwood West high schools to review the program.
Gail Stewart, special areas coordinator, said the review looked at aspects such as instructors teaching the curriculum; required equipment and software; learning environments conducive to teaching the program; active engagement of students and knowledge of curriculum and vocabulary; and support from guidance counselors and building administrators. A round table discussion with parents, students, biomedical instructors and principals was also part of the review process.
“The students were amazing. They blew us away with what they had to say about the program,” said Stewart. She said the review team “especially commended our biomedical teachers for their work on the national curriculum and for serving as master teachers during the summer, training teachers from districts around the nation.”
The team’s certification report included a category for Outstanding Practices. The District was noted for its leadership role in helping implement the program curriculum and teacher involvement in writing and piloting the curriculum. The classrooms and equipment were deemed “excellent.” Currently, more than 425 students in the District are enrolled in biomedical courses.
According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the PLTW Biomedical Science™ program began as a pilot in five highs schools in 2007-2008 – Hazelwood Central, Hazelwood East, Hazelwood West, Carthage Senior High School and Summit Technology Academy.
In 2009-2010, DESE reported 13 high schools in Missouri being involved in the PLTW Biomedical Science™ program. (Story from Hazelwood Communications Dept.)
