WARSAW, IN – Warsaw Community Schools announced today that Lakeview Middle School has been recognized as a 2021-21 Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Gateway Distinguished School. It is one of just 158 middle schools across the U.S. to receive this honor for providing broad access to transformative learning opportunities for students through PLTW Gateway. PLTW is a nonprofit organization that serves millions of PreK-12 students and teachers in schools across the U.S.
Justin Weaver, PLTW teacher at Lakeview Middle School noted, "It's a great honor to be part of the PLTW program, and to be able to offer these sorts of exploratory courses at the Middle School level. Each day, students are given challenging projects that require hands-on effort, creative problem solving, perseverance, and teamwork, and ultimately leave with design skills they can apply in any career.” Amy Sivley, principal at Lakeview Middle School added, “Lakeview is honored to be named a PLTW Distinguished School. Mr. Justin Weaver, PLTW teacher at Lakeview does an outstanding job and he pushes students to very high levels. The PLTW classes offered at the middle school level give our students a solid foundation for future engineering courses. We are excited to offer the PLTW classes, as well as a variety of other elective classes, to our students while in middle school giving them the chance to explore different interests as they begin thinking about their future.”
The PLTW Distinguished School recognition honors schools committed to increasing student access, engagement, and achievement in their PLTW programs. To be eligible for the designation, Lakeview Middle School had to meet the following criteria:
• Have more than 50 percent of the student body participating during the 2019-20 school year;
• Have 25 percent of students advancing to high school participate in two or more units;
• Offer at least one PLTW Gateway unit at each grade level;
• Have strategies and supports in place that support reasonably proportional representation with regard to race, ethnicity, poverty, gender and can support such claims with relevant data.
“It is a great honor to recognize Lakeview Middle School for their unwavering commitment to provide students with an excellent educational experience despite the unusual circumstances and unique challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presented to the educational landscape this past year,” said Dr. Vince Bertram, President and CEO of PLTW. “They should be very proud of their achievements in unlocking their students’ potential and equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in life beyond the classroom no matter what career path they choose.”
Lakeview Middle School is part of a community of PreK-12 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. Congratulations to leaders, staff, students, and families on this outstanding recognition.
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