Penn earns Project Lead the Way Distinguished School status

Penn High School Assistant Principal Rachel Fry, who oversees the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Academy at Penn High School, announced that Penn has earned Project Lead the Way Distinguished School status.

Penn is joined by Brownsburg, Noblesville, Westfield, and Homestead as the other schools in Indiana that were named a PLTW Distinguished School.

PLTW is an innovative program that encompasses computer science, engineering and biomedical science. The program engages students in hands-on activities and programs with the goal of empowering them to solve real-world challenges and inspire them to reimagine how they see themselves.

In order to earn PLTW Distinguished School status, a school must have offer a minimum of three PLTW courses from any pathway, have 25 percent or more students participate in PLTW courses or of those who participated, 33 percent or more take two or more PLTW courses during their high school tenure. A school must also have 70 percent or more of its students earn a Proficient or higher on the End-of-Course Assessment or have 10 percent of its students earn AP+PLTW Student Achievement.

“I am extremely proud that Penn High School has been recognized as a PLTW Distinguished School, evidencing that we prioritize quality curriculum in our classrooms,” Fry said. “PLTW provides students with hands-on and collaborative learning experiences, motivating and preparing them for futures in STEM.”

Penn offers PLTW curriculum through 10 different courses spanning the topics of Biomedical Science, Engineering, and Computer Science. There are 22 sections of students engaged in these learning opportunities this school year.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, "The future of the economy is in STEM." 

“Penn continues work in preparing students for successful futures in these areas, and PLTW is a means by which that is accomplished,” Fry said.