INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The School District of Indian River County is announcing a partnership between Beachland Elementary School and Gifford Middle School through Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a nationally recognized STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Program beginning with the 2015-2016 school year.
The Project will launch at Beachland Elementary where students will become innovative learners and problem solvers with hands-on activities that engage all students while stretching their imagination. They will discover new ways to demonstrate their knowledge across all subject matter including the arts. Beachland’s unique location on the Barrier Island adjacent to Riverside Theatre and the Vero Beach Museum of Art, allows for easy access to learning through the arts.
The PLTW experience will continue at Gifford Middle School. “After a year of searching and exploring ways to incorporate STEM education into our curriculum at Gifford Middle School, we decided on one of the most widely respected STEM Programs in the nation, Project Lead the Way’s Gateway for grades six through eight,” stated Roxanne Decker, Gifford Middle School Principal.
Starting with the sixth grade for the 2015-16 school year, students will analyze genetic testing results, solve medical mysteries through hands-on projects and labs, investigate how to measure and interpret vital signs, and learn how the systems of the human body work together to maintain health.
Additional real-life, relevant units such as Energy and Environmental Impact will continue into the seventh grade in the 2016-17 school year.
As eighth graders, students in Project Lead the Way will use the VEX Robotics platform to design, build, and program real-world objects, such as traffic lights, toll booths, and robotic arms.
Please contact Beachland Elementary or Gifford Middle School for more information about this exciting academic program.
For more information on Gateway programs visit www.PLTW.org.
