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How does a school assess and provide the facilities needed to teach the
PLTW Program?
PLTW assists schools by providing a series of guidelines on how
schools can meet PLTW specifications…(More)
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How is PLTW measuring the success of its programs?
PLTW has contracted with TrueOutcomes of Fairfax, VA, to
complete a multi-year study to see how well PLTW is meeting its mission
and goals. This will include an annual analysis of enrollment trends,
student satisfaction questionnaires, and a long-term study of college
success by PLTW high school students. PLTW maintains direct contact with
teachers in the program, all of whom have completed intensive training
at one of PLTW's National Training Centers. Our feedback from PLTW
schools, teachers in the program, school counselors, and students and
their parents has been impressively positive. In addition, PLTW is
committed to continuous improvement; courses are reviewed and updated
every two years based on the experience of its students and teachers.
We need your cooperation and support:
In the first year of our next 5-year study of the PLTW program,
TrueOutcomes Associates is asking for information from a random sample
of 200 of our schools. TrueOutcomes will be asking each selected school
to have their students register via the Internet and each teacher to
complete annual test data online that they will use for research
purposes only. Please be sure and participate. In the second year,
TrueOutcomes will add to the number of schools asked to provide data and
by the 5th year of the study, all schools will be asked to submit data.
All information will be held in strict confidentiality by TrueOutcomes
and will not be shared with any outside group or organization.
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Could the PLTW program be offered in public, parochial, charter or
magnet schools?
Any school which can meet PLTW requirements may offer the program.
These requirements include commitment to PLTW goals and standards, a
sufficient number of staff and students to establish the program, and
financial resources.
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May schools offer only a couple of the PLTW courses?
When you become part of the PLTW network, your school signs an
agreement which establishes a consistent standard in all schools and a
four-year implementation schedule. The agreement is automatically
renewed yearly unless the school informs PLTW in writing. Schools which
continue to offer the PLTW program to their students become eligible for
participation in PLTW's national recognition programs: Exemplary High
School and Exemplary Student.
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May schools modify PLTW courses?
Courses may only be changed by PLTW through its ongoing teacher training
program. Because PLTW is a national program, all schools in the network
agree to maintain the quality standards and content of all courses.
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Can we use equipment we already have?
Schools which implement the PLTW program are provided with lists of
equipment requirements for the courses. Schools must attach with their
application a list of their present equipment for review; it is
important for this equipment to support the delivery of the PLTW
curriculum…(More) If the equipment - whatever the brand - in your school
meets PLTW specifications, your students will be able to use required
equipment and successfully meet the established standards. Second, PLTW
negotiates each year with the leading software makers to obtain
exceptional prices on a lease basis; because the curriculum utilizes
this software, there can be no alternative. In order to maintain
consistency, schools agree each year to lease this software from PLTW at
very competitive prices. Because there is a multi-year implementation
schedule, schools will be able to budget their equipment and software
needs over several years.
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What do we do now if we are interested?
You might look on this website at the PLTW Network of Schools in your
state and contact them for information on their experiences. You are
invited to contact PLTW either through an online application or through
email to your State Leader (see "Contacting Us: State Leaders" on this
website). S/he will provide you with documents, including a timeline,
which you will use in your planning and decision-making. PLTW is
committed to working closely with all schools to meet their unique needs
while meeting the requirements of the PLTW program. We look forward to
hearing from you.
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Why are there Varying Costs of Summer Training Institutes in different
National Affiliate Training Centers?
Each National Affiliate Training Center (NATC) establishes its own fees
to cover its room/board/tuition costs. These vary because of the
location of the NATC, the requirement that each NATC offer a
self-sustaining program, and the level and type of financial support
within each state...(More)
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Is it acceptable for Career & Technical Centers to share their Software
Licenses with smaller school districts within their service area?
We fully appreciate the value of the PLTW program to students in
smaller high schools. Unfortunately, we do not have unilateral authority
to change the software agreements we have signed with software
publishing companies.
However, as our goal is to
keep improving the software license agreement for school districts, we
will begin discussions with our software publishing companies to find
some way to address the unique circumstances of these smaller high
schools that are within independent school districts. As you know,
negotiations take time. Hopefully, this will be accomplished within a
year or so. In the meantime, Career & Tech Centers may not share their
site licenses with smaller high schools that are part of independent
school districts.
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