The grant is for 14 counties in the north central Indiana WIRED region.

Press Release

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - More middle schools and high schools in north-central Indiana now have an opportunity to adopt Project Lead the Way, a national program that certifies educators to teach pre-engineering and engineering technology subjects.
Up to $1.57 million has been designated to expand the program in the area.

The investment, made by the Indiana WIRED (Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development) initiative, supports the expansion of two areas of Project Lead the Way: providing funding for 74 additional schools to train teachers and purchase software and equipment to be able to offer the curriculum, and providing funding for a computer-integrated manufacturing course.

The grant is for 14 counties in the north-central Indiana WIRED region.

Purdue is the project administrator for Indiana WIRED and the affiliate university for Project Lead the Way in the state. The university also is responsible for training the program's high school teachers.

"Project Lead the Way has helped educate and encourage thousands of students to pursue high-tech careers in engineering and advanced manufacturing," said Michael T. O'Hair, associate dean for engagement in Purdue's College of Technology and co-chairman of Indiana Project Lead the Way. "Getting more students interested in science, technology, engineering and math, and equipping them for the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow, are two areas that have been widely identified as key for the economic and competitive success of our state and nation.

"These funds will help provide an opportunity for schools and teachers to better prepare students who are planning to enter a higher-education institution (two- or four-year) after graduation."

The first part of the investment will go toward providing incentives to implement Project Lead the Way curriculum in all middle and high schools in north-central Indiana, which includes the counties of Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, Warren and White.

More than $1.1 million of the investment will go toward teacher training, start-up equipment and software for the Project Lead the Way curriculum in the region's middle and high schools that have not yet implemented the program.

It is estimated that in the first year each high school would have to invest about $25,000 for training, hardware, software and other expenses to start the program, and that cost is about $20,000 for each middle school. Indiana WIRED will provide a $15,000 incentive for each of the 31 high schools and 43 middle schools that have not yet implemented the program.

Also included is funding for a half-time WIRED Project Lead the Way coordinator who will help promote the program and prepare middle and high schools for implementation.

The second part of the investment, which is $385,500, will give incentives to expand the Project Lead the Way computer-integrated manufacturing course to 10 high schools in the region. This includes funds that will pay for training of 10 new teachers for the course and funds for the manufacturing laboratory systems and other equipment that each school needs in order to offer the course. Purdue will offer teacher training at the Indiana Project Lead the Way Summer Training Institute in June 2008.

The computer-integrated manufacturing course teaches students skills in advanced manufacturing techniques and industrial robotics and prepares them for continuing education in manufacturing, said Bradley Harriger, director of the College of Technology Manufacturing Center and professor of manufacturing engineering technology. Students in the courses use computer numerical control equipment to produce models of their 3-D dimensional designs as well as learn fundamental concepts of robotics used in automated manufacturing and design analysis.

O'Hair said that 232 Indiana schools offer the Project Lead the Way curriculum, putting it first in the nation. This year, Indiana surpassed the founding state for PLTW, New York, for the top spot.

"The Indiana Department of Workforce Development has been instrumental in supporting the mission of Project Lead the Way because leaders there see the connection between education and economic growth," he said. "Having that kind of backing is a prime reason the program has seen such rapid expansion in the last few years."

Mark C. Smith, Purdue's project administrator for WIRED, said that providing the funding to support Project Lead the Way is fundamental in making and keeping this region of Indiana competitive in the global economy.

"Manufacturing continues to be the economic engine that drives our state's economy, providing 19 percent of the jobs and 28 percent of the gross state product," he said. "We must train our youth, the emerging workers, to keep our future employment pipeline filled and remain competitive in a global environment.

"Project Lead the Way is a great example of how the educational community is helping transform north-central Indiana by training students in manufacturing, positively impacting economic development and giving the region a competitive advantage."

WIRED is a federal development initiative designed to help state and local communities compete in the global economy. It integrates federal, state and local investments in work force development and economic development.

WIRED is part of President George W. Bush's Competitiveness Agenda and is funded by a $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. The grant is administered through the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Project Lead the Way is a national nonprofit organization that provides engineering and engineering technology education curricula for teachers in middle and high schools. Through collaborations between K-12 education, higher education, state government and industry, the goal of the program is to increase the number and quality of engineers and engineering technologists in the United States.

Purdue's technology teacher education program, which is part of the College of Technology, last year received the nation's first Project Lead the Way certification to offer its graduates Project Lead the Way engineering teacher credentials at the same time they receive their diplomas and Indiana technology education teaching licenses. In 2004 and 2006, the program was chosen as the outstanding engineering and technology teacher education program by the Association for Career and Technical Education's Engineering and Technology Education Division.

Source: Purdue University