RIT Hosts Summer Technology Training for Middle- and High-School Teachers

Rochester Institute of Technology welcomes, throughout July, 300 math, science and technology middle- and high-school teachers for intensive workshops that train them to teach engineering and technology to their students this fall.

The instructors are studying through Project Lead the Way at RIT’s National Technology Training Center. Project Lead the Way helps middle- and high-school teachers from 330 schools in 28 states implement two- and four-year pre-engineering curricula in their schools.

The curriculum aims to interest students in engineering-related studies. By better preparing them for college studies, students are more likely to succeed in college and careers. This, in turn, is expected to lead to a larger supply of highly skilled workers in burgeoning high-tech fields.

"Project Lead the Way raises the standard of education throughout the country and is a perfect fit to complement school reform efforts," says Guy Johnson, RIT professor of manufacturing and mechanical engineering technology, center director and Project Lead the Way principal investigator. "Students’ enthusiasm for the program, which prepares them for informed college and career choices, is unmatched."

Students can receive college credits for their participation in Project Lead the Way studies. And teachers can receive graduate college credits for Project Lead the Way training.

In addition to those training at RIT, another 70 teachers are training for the first time at summer institutes at affiliated universities including Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich.; New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, N.H.; the University of Houston and the Higher Education and Advanced Technology Center at Lowry in Aurora, Colo.

Project Lead the Way, launched in partnership with RIT in 1997, is an initiative of the nonprofit National Alliance for Pre-Engineering Programs. This year marks the largest teacher group and the fourth straight year of summer teacher-training workshops at RIT.

Note: For more information on Project Lead the Way, visit www.pltw.org.

Following is a list of Rochester- and Buffalo-area schools participating in Project Lead the Way:

Alden Central High School Penfield High School Avon High School Bay Trail Middle School (Penfield) Brockport High School Pittsford Mendon High School Oliver Middle School (Brockport) Pittsford Middle School Riverside Institute of Technology (Buffalo) Pittsford Sutherland High School Chautauqua Lake Central Schools Charter School of Science and Technology (Roch.) Churchville-Chili High School East High School (Rochester) Churchville-Chili Junior High School Edison Technical and Occupational H.S. (Roch.) Clarence High School James Madison School of Excellence (Rochester) Clarence Middle School John Marshall High School (Rochester) Depew High School Rush-Henrietta High School Greece Arcadia High School Burger Middle School (Rush-Henrietta) Greece Arcadia Middle School Roth Middle School (Rush-Henrietta) Greece Athena Middle School Spencerport High School Greece Odyssey Middle School Cosgrove Middle School (Spencerport) Greece Olympia High School Springville-Griffith Institute High School Apollo Middle School (Greece) Victor Senior High School Honeoye Falls High School Dake Middle School (West Irondequoit) Lake Shore Central Senior High School Irondequoit High School (West Irondequoit) Lancaster High School Wheatland-Chili Junior/Senior High School Livonia Junior/Senior High School Williamsville East High School Maryvale High School Williamsville North High School Maryvale Middle School Williamsville South High School