Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Program is Opening Doors and Young Minds at Salem’s Saltonstall School
Middle School students learning hands-on, analysis and steady, consistent progress
SALEM (Oct. 16, 2023) – By the end of the school year, the students involved in the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) program at the Saltonstall School will have constructed an ankle/foot orthosis and created a toy to benefit children inflicted with cerebral palsy.
They also hope to build their skills in sketching: isometric, orthographic and multiversion sketching, to be specific. What seventh or eight-grader wouldn’t?
It is only six weeks into the PLTW program at the Saltonstall School and the students of science educator Meghan Lurvey are not only learning all of the above, but enjoying it and thriving in it.
Whomever the recipient of the foot orthosis or toys may be, they won’t be the sole beneficiaries of the PLTW curriculum. It will be equally rewarding for the Saltonstall students and their teacher.
“I see children who don’t normally participate in other classes, and they thrive,” said Ms. Lurvey, in her first year as a teacher. “It’s making them excited to learn. Hands are up. The engagement is through the roof.”
It is more than the learning component, Ms. Lurvey said. There are friendships forming and leaders emerging.
“I’ve got kids helping each other, working with students they don’t normally work with,” Ms. Lurvey added. “It’s providing social opportunities. The seventh-graders are working with the eighth-graders whom they didn’t know before this program.”
Eighth-grader Naima Lara joined classmates Weston Henry and Izaiah Diogo at a school committee meeting Oct. 2 to present their projects for the academic year and what they hope to accomplish. As each spoke, their enthusiasm for PLTW gushed, as if new realms of possibility had opened.
Ms. Lara aspires to be a pediatric nurse. With her involvement in creating a foot orthosis, she now understands how STEM and nursing can go hand-in-hand.
“I have a lot planned,” she explained. “It’s kind of given me a peak of what I’m going to do in high school, college, and the medical field. Project Lead The Way inspires me to cultivate my dream.”
For both Ms. Lara and Mr. Henry, PLTW has been a revelation. “I thought it would be boring until I figured out it was hands-on,” Mr. Henry said. “It’s easier for me to learn hands-on.”
Among the units the PLTW students will study is the launch of skimmer cars from a simple paper clip and rubber band to determine how far each can go. Ms. Lurvey will oversee the study in a contest form with students recording and analyzing statistical data of the winning car. As a class, they will study the winning car and continue to strive for improvements.
The unit is teaching students to achieve steady, consistent progress.
It’s not just the students who are transformed. When they presented at the Oct. 2 School Committee meeting, Ms. Lurvey couldn’t suppress her joy.
Ms. Lurvey was a paraprofessional at the Carlton Innovation School for two years while completing her undergraduate degree at Salem State. As she was preparing for her first year, she was approached about teaching middle school STEM and implementing the PLTW program at Saltonstall.
Though she earned her undergraduate degree in psychology, she remembers taking an interest and excelling in STEM courses during middle and high school.
Not quite two months into her teaching career, Ms. Lurvey has discovered her niche.
“When I heard about this opportunity, I thought, ‘This is me,’” said Ms. Lurvey, who is attending the Massachusetts PLTW Summit at Worcester Polytechnic Institute this week. “To have this opportunity brings a lot more light on different careers that I don’t think our students would know about.
“I wish I could teach (PLTW) more, but we only teach two classes a day,” she added. “I would love to be able to teach one more class and expand it.”
About Salem Public Schools
Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Our leaders and our teachers are all passionate about education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement with equity and social-emotional needs as the lens we view all of our work through. We respect and value the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of our students and their families, and have a strong commitment to the Salem community. Salem Public Schools staff serve all of our students, regardless of ability or language. Salem Public Schools enrolls approximately 4,000 students across its eleven schools.
