Silicon Valley Leadership Group's "Projections 2010" Features PLTW as "An Innovation Economy Solution" Clifton Park, NY – Project Lead The Way (PLTW), the nation's leading provider of STEM education, is featured in the Silicon Valley Leadership Group's "Projections 2010" as a "Best Practice" in the category of "Science and Math Graduates." The publication, which highlights examples of programs that "underscore the Valley's leadership in good times and bad," states that "Innovation isn't diminished in a down economy…In fact, it flourishes." The publication states, "The National Business Roundtable reports that for the U.S. to remain economically competitive we need 400,000 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) college graduates annually, yet we are currently only graduating 265,000. The Silicon Valley has long understood this critical gap as confirmed by a Public Policy Institute report predicting that California will have one million fewer college graduates than needed in 2025. This is why educators, business leaders, universities and elected officials nationwide have embraced Project Lead The Way (PLTW). Its curriculum paths, both engineering and bio-medical sciences, provide the foundation for middle and high school students to enter the innovative and competitive STEM workforce." The Silicon Valley Leadership Group, founded in 1978 by David Packard of Hewlett-Packard, represents 305 of Silicon Valley's most respected employers on issues, programs and campaigns that affect the economic health and quality of life in Silicon Valley, including energy, transportation, education, housing, health care, tax policies, economic vitality and the environment. Leadership Group members collectively provide nearly one of every four private sector jobs in Silicon Valley. To view the "Projections 2010 Leadership California: Solutions from the Innovation Economy," go to http://svlg.net/press/library/projections_2010.pdf. About Project Lead The Way PLTW is a national, non-profit organization that provides rigorous and innovative science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for middle schools and high schools. The PLTW comprehensive curriculum, which is collaboratively developed by PLTW teachers, University educators, engineering and biomedical professionals, and school administrators, emphasizes critical thinking, creativity, innovation, and real-world problem solving. The hands-on, project-based program engages students on multiple levels, exposes them to areas of study that they typically do not pursue, and provides them with a foundation and proven path to college and career success in STEM-related fields. PLTW began in 1998 in 12 high schools in upstate New York as a program designed to address the shortage of engineering students at the college level and has grown to a network of almost 3,400 middle and high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Over 300,000 students are enrolled in PLTW courses.