New School, Program Registration Opens Next Week

New school and program registration for the 2012-13 school year will open on Thursday, September 8.

District Delegates

• Starting on Thursday, District Delegates may login to the Delegate Console of the PLTW Extranet to add new schools or new curricular programs (Pathway To Engineering, Biomedical Sciences, or Gateway To Technology) to their districts.
• The deadline for adding new schools and programs from within the PLTW Extranet is June 30, 2012.
• However, it is recommended that new schools and programs are added by March 15, 2012 when Core Training registration opens so that teachers may reserve seats at the training sessions of their choice.

Schools

• If you do not know your District Delegate, use the PLTW School Locator to obtain your delegate's contact information.
• If you know of districts or schools that wish to implement a PLTW program for the 2012-13 school year:
• Refer them to the online registration process for new school districts and the Getting Started page for resources and information.
• Provide the contact information for their Regional Director who can answer questions and coordinate support through the state leadership team.

Student Versions of the Curriculum for PLTW Courses

Student versions of the curriculum for PLTW courses are available through the Virtual Academy.

Teachers

• Login to the Virtual Academy.
• Click the course name under Engineering Curriculum or Biomedical Sciences Curriculum.
• Go to the curriculum section of the course page and follow the instructions on how to download the curriculum.

If you have any issues or require assistance, contact Technical Support.

2011-12 Assessment System Details 

Details on the 2011-12 Assessment System will be emailed in a separate communication early next week. This communication will be sent to the entire PLTW network.

Important highlights will include:

• Continuation of the same NWEA-based online testing platform that was utilized during the 2010-11 school year
• Discontinuation of the MAP-based Growth Assessments
• Development of new End of Course Assessments for three courses (AE, CEA & POE)
• End of Course Assessment timelines
• Teacher resources
• Test administration
• Test security and teacher access to tests
• New student rostering procedures
• Help and training resources
• Login credentials  

Place Your Orders for Software License Purchases

Schools offering Pathway To Engineering courses should contact their Authorized Autodesk Reseller to order the required Autodesk software for the 2011-12 school year.

More information on the required software for the courses you're offering is available in the Additional Resources section of the PLTW Purchasing Manual page. 

Schools offering POE, CIM, AE and/or the AR unit of GTT with the VEX Robotics platform:

• Place your orders for ROBOTC software licenses as soon as possible by using the form on the ROBOTC tab of either the ENGR Vendor Workbook or GTT Vendor Workbook on the PLTW Purchasing Manual.
• ROBOTC orders should not be placed on any purchase orders.
• Download and installation instructions will be emailed to the designated contact(s). Please allow three weeks to complete this process.

2011-12 School Year Curriculum Now Available 

As highlighted in a recent issue of the Action Bulletin for Schools, the 2011-12 PLTW curriculum is now available through the Virtual Academy.  

To ensure program quality, including exam alignment, PLTW teachers are required to use the 2011-12 curriculum for course instruction throughout the academic year.

View full details from the recent issue of the Action Bulletin for Schools.

Reminders: Info Updates, Press Release Template

Information Updates
As you prepare for the 2011-12 school year, this is a good time to check your information in the PLTW Extranet and make any necessary updates.

Delegates

• Update your email address and phone number (if necessary).
• Make sure the addresses and phone numbers of your participating schools are current.
• Update principal and counselor information (if necessary).
• Verify that only active teachers and schools are listed (unless the school is otherwise noted as deactivated).
• If any schools are no longer implementing a program for which they are currently registered, contact the School Support Team to request the program be deactivated.

Teachers

• Update your email address and phone number (if necessary). 
• Indicate the courses you will be instructing during the 2011-12 academic year.

If you have any questions or need assistance, contact School Support Team.

Press Release Template for New Schools
For schools implementing a PLTW program for the first time this fall, a New School Press Release Template is available for download. By completing this template with school information, new schools have a ready-made tool to promote their programs to local media outlets.

PLTW Program Team Announcement

We are pleased to announce that Sam Cox, Wes Terrell and Mark Schroll have agreed to broaden their responsibilities within the PLTW Program Team.

• Sam Cox, as Senior Director of Curriculum & Instruction, will lead daily operations and implement a strategic vision that will combine both focus and innovation.
• Wes Terrell, as Director of Curriculum and Instruction, will continue to improve our curriculum, processes for development, and outreach to our network of educators.
• Mark Schroll, as Director of Strategic Partnerships, will build partnerships that leverage cutting-edge opportunities for students and continue to improve professional development experiences for educators.

We would like to thank and recognize Sam, Wes and Mark for their talent, expertise and commitment to PLTW.