The Bartlesville Public School District has again been recognized as a Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Distinguished District for its outstanding STEM program at every district school. All six of the district’s elementary schools, both of its middle schools, and its high school each earned Distinguished School status for 2021-22. Bartlesville is one of just 13 districts across the U.S. to receive this honor and the only district with that status in Oklahoma.
PLTW is a nonprofit organization that provides STEM curricula to millions of PreK-12 students and teachers in schools across the nation. Bartlesville Public Schools offers PLTW Launch (K-5), PLTW Gateway (6-8), and PLTW Computer Science and Engineering courses at Bartlesville High School, with additional Engineering offerings available for students at Tri-County Tech.
This is the third year the district’s six elementary schools could qualify as Distinguished Schools, which required that at least two STEM modules be offered at each grade level with 75% or higher participation in the prior year. Only 21 other elementary schools in the state have received Distinguished School recognition for 2021-22.
This was the fifth consecutive year that both Central and Madison middle schools were named Distinguished Schools. That recognition requires that Gateway to Technology units be offered at each grade level, that at least 50% of the student body participates, and at least 25% of the students advancing to high school participate in two or more units while in middle school. There are no other middle schools in the state which received that recognition for 2021-22.
This is the fourth consecutive year that Bartlesville High School’s Computer Science program earned Distinguished School status, and the Engineering program at Bartlesville High School and Tri-County Tech also again received that recognition this year. So two of the six high school programs in the state receiving Distinguished School recognition are in Bartlesville. They had to provide at least three high school courses in the pathway, have at least 25% of students participate or have 33% of participating students take two or more PLTW courses, and have 95% of PLTW students complete End-of-Course assessments.
Through PLTW programs, students develop in-demand knowledge and skills that they will use both in school and for the rest of their lives, on any career path they take. As PLTW students progress through grades PreK-12, they are empowered to engage in problem-solving and process thinking, develop technical knowledge and skills, build communication skills, and explore career opportunities. Bartlesville now offers complete computer science and engineering pathways from kindergarten through 12th grade.
“It is a great honor to recognize Bartlesville Public Schools for their commitment to providing students with an excellent educational experience,” said Dr. Vince Bertram, President and CEO of PLTW. “They should be very proud of their work to ensure students have the knowledge and skills to be career-ready and successful on any career path they choose.”
Bartlesville Public Schools is part of a community of public schools, colleges and universities, and corporate and philanthropic partners across the country united around a passion for providing students with inspiring, engaging, and empowering learning opportunities. For more information about PLTW’s recognition program, visit pltw.org/our-programs/program-recognition. For more information on the Bartlesville Public Schools’ PLTW programs, contact Dr. Stephanie Curtis, Executive Director of Personnel & School Support, at (918) 336-8600.