STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
UNLOCKING A
OF POSSIBILITIES What began as a pre-engineering and digital electronics high school program in upstate New York has evolved to include STEM-based curriculum, including engineering, biomedical science, and computer science pathways.
1997-Present
PLTW has reached millions of students, tens of thousands of educators, and has brought real-world learning into PreK-12 classrooms by way of relevant, real-world learning experiences that connects knowledge and skills to meaningful careers. We’re passionate about equipping the next generation of students with everything they need to go further in whatever career path they choose.
PLTW courses provide an opportunity for students to step outside of their comfort zone and really see what they are capable of. The skills they learn from these courses will prepare students for any challenges thrown their way, whether it’s a career in a STEM field or not.” -PLTW Teacher, High School New Jersey
PLTW students – along with their teachers – can make a difference in their classrooms, in their communities, and around the world. We provide teachers with the training, resources, and support they need to engage students in real-world learning.
OUR MISSION: EMPOWER STUDENTS TO THRIVE IN AN EVOLVING WORLD Our pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science: • Engage students in hands-on activities, projects, and problems • Empower them to solve real-world challenges • Inspire them to reimagine how they see themselves
OUR PLTW has defined a bold 10-year vision, known as our North Star. Over the next 10 years, PLTW will average annual doubledigit growth in our reach to U.S. PreK-12 students in schools and beyond. Fifty percent of PLTW students will be in our nation’s highest need schools. As we serve more students, we commit to driving strong student impact: • Increased interest/engagement and/or proficiency on key transportable skills important for college & career success (with differentiated measures by grade band). • Narrowed difference in average outcomes across student groups.
POISED TO
TRANSFORM In the fall of 2020, PLTW developed a refreshed strategic framework to position us to lead boldly into the future. We are poised to make a transformative impact on the lives of students across America in the following ways: A focus on every student: There is acute need for improved access to and outcomes in high-quality learning for all students, especially underserved students who are often steered away from or unprepared for advanced learning, subjected to learning gaps exacerbated by COVID-19, and inequitably prepared for college and career. A shift to learning everywhere: Where and how learning happens is shifting as a result of COVID-19. This indicates a need for remote learning tools, and it also introduces an opportunity to reach students who face barriers accessing in-school full class delivery models (e.g. rural, homeschool, etc.). An emphasis on preparedness for careers of the future in a globally competitive landscape: U.S. students are lagging their global peers, with the U.S. ranking 15th in science and 36th in math on the 2018 PISA assessment with no significant change since 2000. This creates risk as the jobs of tomorrow require U.S. students to have robust knowledge and skills that make them globally competitive.
STUDENTS ARE OUR FOCUS
Achieving PLTW’s bold North Star requires our organization to be Customer-Centric and Impact-Focused to dramatically diversify and increase the number of students participating in PLTW programs. • Customer Centric: Customers are the focus for every business decision made, and this mindset transcends across the entire customer journey to ensure every possible interaction is a superior experience for the end-user. • Impact Focused: The enhancement of data systems, literacy, and access to provide clear visibility into who PLTW serves (growth), how effectively (impact), and what is required to better serve our customers. We are agile and responsive to the ways in which the PreK-12 educational landscape is evolving. And, at the heart of it all, we know success requires innovation. We embody an innovative mindset that encourages our team to think differently and strive for excellence with a clear strategy and laser focus on the growth and impact opportunities in front of us.
We get the best from PLTW. We have found PLTW to be the best preparatory program in high school to make us a globally competitive manufacturer. PLTW’s high-quality curriculum and its development of students’ problem-solving, teamwork, and written and verbal communication skills is unmatched. Additionally, the national scope of PLTW means we can replicate our strategy across all of our plants. We highly value the engaging and sincere partnership with PLTW.” - Dennis Dio Parker, Consultant Toyota North America Regional Talent Development, Consultant to FAME USA at The Manufacturing Institute
91% of STEM occupations
request transportable skills in a majority of openings.* *Compared to 55% of non-STEM occupations.
M E A S U R I N G W H AT
M AT T E R S :
Preparing Students to Thrive In Life Beyond The Classroom Success in today’s world requires more. We know PLTW students are ready for more, and PLTW has committed to assessing more of what matters most. We have an obligation to look at skills students are developing and how they match with what employers need. Our first-of-its-kind assessment measures a broader range of knowledge, skills, and cognitive abilities for students of all ages across PreK-12 grade levels. Data shows that measuring transportable skills (problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and ethical reasoning) at the same time as subject-specific skills can mitigate the gender and racial bias that has been present in standardized testing for decades. PLTW partnered with Burning Glass to research what skills employers value most: • Burning Glass mined its database of more than 150 million unique online job postings in the U.S., mapped these skills to its taxonomy of 17,420 discrete skills, and pinpointed job openings that requested any of the five transportable skills. • Demand for transportable skills outpaces that for all other skills, because industries across the economy prize these skills that are valued at every stage of a career. Fifty-seven percent of entry-level openings request at least one of these skills, while 68 percent of managerial openings request at least one transportable skill. When combined with technical skills and other transportable skills, demand for transportable skills climbs. To ensure PLTW students are on track for post-secondary success, PLTW’s curriculum developers align the organization’s multidisciplinary programs to a variety of standards, which provides districts and schools with the flexibility to tailor programs to meet their specific state or local requirements. PLTW also partners with universities and corporations to verify that activities, projects, and problems reflect relevant, real-world challenges to ensure alignment with skills that employers are seeking.
D R I V I N G I M PA C T AND GROWTH I N P r e K- 8
Having confidence in the classroom from an early age can make all the difference in a student’s choice to pursue higher education when they are older, and the importance of building self-confidence and self-esteem begins as early as elementary school. Research shows early access to STEM has a positive impact on elementary students. Early STEM exposure matters for all students, but it is especially important for students from underrepresented backgrounds; research indicates a large achievement gap in STEM among these groups. PLTW developed PLTW Launch for grades PreK-5 and PLTW Gateway for grades 6-8 in part to address this problem and give all students the opportunity to engage in STEM at an earlier age. The best way to increase STEM participation by students typically underrepresented in STEM, including girls and minorities, is to start programs like PLTW early before children begin self-selecting out.
Through this differential focus, PLTW will:
Make highquality learning experiences accessible to more students earlier on
Proactively address known disparities in student outcomes for STEM subjects to drive bigger interest and engagement
Lay the foundation for younger students to eventually enroll in PLTW’s High School programs
Provide more gender equity through PLTW Launch and PLTW Gateway.
Our partnership is not only with industry and community leaders such as Chevron, Ingalls, Keesler Federal Credit Union, and Mississippi Professional Educators, but also elementary and high school students. We have grown a program that has students in STEAM projects from fourth to twelfth grade. It is truly fun to watch students work and watch the confidence grow with each project.” - PLTW Teacher, Grades 6—8 Mississippi
• Majority of students reported being more interested in STEM stopics, have increased STEM proficiency, and are more aware of STEM careers. *According to a survey of PLTW Gateway students in schools funded by Verizon • PLTW students attended higher ed institutions at a higher rate than nonPLTW students, according to a Texas State University study of PLTW High School students conducted in 2013. Comparatively, PLTW students were more likely to enroll in post-secondary institutions than non-PLTW students, according to a 2021 report by the Urban Education Research Center at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. • PLTW participation has a positive effect on student performance on standardized mathematics tests in high school, according to a Texas State University study of PLTW High School students conducted in 2013. Comparatively, PLTW High School students outperformed their non-PLTW peers on state science, math, and English Language Arts assessments, according to a study conducted in Massachusetts (Papay, 2019). The benefits of PLTW were as large or larger for students with disabilities, English Learners, and students who were economically disadvantaged.
E D U C AT I O N A L E Q U I T Y FOR ALL STUDENTS
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) is mission-critical to achieve our North Star. PLTW provides inclusive and equitable experiences that allow all students and teachers to see themselves in our products and training. In support of that priority, we committed to a holistic approach to DEIB that focuses on two main pillars: Workforce Diversity and Curriculum Diversity.
WORKFORCE DIVERSITY
CURRICULUM DIVERSITY
From PLTW’s Board of Directors and Executive Leadership Team to all Team Members across the organization, we committed to attracting, developing, and retaining talent of all backgrounds that reflects the communities we serve. As a national leader in education, we are cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging within our organization to create pathways for equitable implementation for all students.
To enhance our cultural relevance, we engaged with external agency partners to execute our organizational vision for DEIB, and we implemented a validation tool and process that allows us to consistently review, address, and enhance our exciting curriculum through a DEIB lens. We anticipate sharing more updates around this investment during the 2021-22 school year.
Our DEIB strategy focuses on transforming our ability to serve any student, anywhere, efficiently and effectively.
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P LT W G R A N T S :
Propelling PLTW Towards our North Star PLTW Grants is an impact-driven mechanism where partners can contribute funds to ensure that their education-related philanthropic goals are met. Through grants, PLTW partners support STEM-based learning in the communities they serve or across the country, investing in the development of future workforce and talent pipelines highlighting PLTW students. PLTW supports partner-sponsored grants through complete management and reporting, as well as outreach marketing and communication strategies to drive awareness and adoption of grant opportunities.
YOU CAN HELP STUDENTS
UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL At PLTW, we believe students can’t be what they can’t see. We know an inspired student can accomplish anything; they just need the exposure to understand what’s possible. As the U.S. education landscape continues to evolve, PLTW is committed to serving more students and driving greater student impact through our bold North Star. PLTW partners are as diverse as the students and schools we serve, including Fortune 500 corporations, local businesses, foundations, nonprofits, government agencies, and workforce and economic development groups across the country. Our partners play an integral role in carrying out our mission. Join our network of corporate and foundation partners who help bring real-world learning, educational equity, and positive student outcomes to more students. Visit YouTube.com/TeamPLTW to watch how PLTW and Finch Paper partnered to build a talent pipeline for the workforce of the future.
Together, we can create an ecosystem of support around students and teachers engaging them in real-world learning and equipping them with tools, resources, and experiences that connect the classroom to business and industry. To learn more about PLTW and our impact, visit pltw.org/about-us/our-impact.