Celebrating the 2025-26 PLTW Community Impact Award Winners 

At PLTW, we believe students can make a difference in their classrooms, in their communities, and around the world alongside dedicated teachers who guide, challenge, and inspire them. The PLTW Community Impact Awards celebrate these students and teachers who are going beyond the classroom to make meaningful differences in their communities. 

Now in its third year, the 2025-26 PLTW Community Impact Awards continue to spotlight the incredible potential of tomorrow’s leaders as they build and apply their career-ready skills. 

From designing therapeutic toys for children with developmental disorders to leading STEM outreach for younger students, this year’s winning teams used their PLTW classroom experiences to serve others, strengthen their communities, and inspire what’s possible.

Congratulations to this year’s winners:

Middle School Winning Project: Therapeutic Toy

Sixth graders use engineering principles to design and build functional physical therapy tools.

Young Audiences Charter School

Gretna, Louisiana

PLTW Teacher: Ralph Alvarado

Students:  Xavier Harris, Marleigh Darensbourg, Landon Lam, Sebastian Mcelwee, Ricky Suazo, Talon Bergeron, Justin Ardon, Chris Rodriquez, Jesus Ortiz

With their project, “Therapeutic Toy,” PLTW Design and Modeling students from Young Audiences Charter School partnered with the Michael R. Boh Center for Child Development to help improve the lives of children with developmental disorders. 

Under the guidance of PLTW teacher Ralph Alvarado, students designed therapeutic toys to support important developmental goals, including fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and range of motion. Throughout the project, they collaborated with healthcare professionals to better understand the needs of the children they hoped to serve and use those insights to guide their brainstorming, design, and development process. 

PLTW is proud to recognize these innovators for their commitment to helping others. Their project is a powerful example of what students can accomplish when they use design thinking to improve lives.

High School Winning Project: Lighting the Way - Middle School Outreach

Students put community-based learning into motion with innovative, hands-on biomed experiences. 

Aiken County Career and Technology Center

Warrenville, South Carolina

PLTW Teacher: Christie Palladino

Students: Molly Bane, Lluvia Delgado, Layla Deets, Justine Edwards, Arianna Gardner, Patrice Hatcher, Charlotte Hollis, Christian Hutton, Donovan Juarez-Segura, Aryanna, Kilpatrick-Dzul, Angelina Lewis, Journey Mays, Hannah Neal, Alex Rogers, Jazmyne Thompkins, Ryleigh Wall, Makayla Wise 

At Aiken County Career and Technology Center, PLTW Biomedical Science students turned their microscopy skills into a student-led outreach program designed to spark curiosity and confidence among younger learners. 

Through their project, “Lighting the Way: Middle School Outreach,” students created a hands-on microscopy lab for middle school students in their community. The lab taught participants how to prepare a hair sample slide, use a light microscope, and identify the layers of a human hair shaft, which gave them an engaging introduction to biomedical science and STEM learning. 

Under the guidance of PLTW teacher Christie Palladino, the team brought this experience to 500 middle school students, helping them build scientific skills while also encouraging interest in future STEM pathways. Their work created an opportunity for middle schoolers to see themselves as capable, curious, and confident learners in science. The team is continuing to expand its outreach with the goal of reaching thousands of students across the region.  

PLTW is proud to celebrate these future leaders for their service and dedication to expanding access to hands-on STEM experiences. Their impact is immeasurable and their work is lighting the way for future innovators. 

Real world learning is most powerful when students use it to serve others. Across PLTW classrooms, students are building technical knowledge and career-ready skills to solve problems, support their communities, and make a difference. Congratulations to the 2025-26 PLTW Community Impact Award winners!

Want to see how last year’s students made a difference? 

Explore the 2024-25 PLTW Community Impact Awards winning projects.