The competition didn’t know the students from Sun Valley High School were so awesome. Sun Valley is a new school that has a challenging instructional environment in an area where one would not expect to find adequate support. 94 percent of the students are Hispanic, 87 percent qualify for free and reduced price meals, and 26 percent are English Language Learners. The Sun Valley team won the national Mini-Urban Challenge by designing and operating a robotic car to autonomously navigate a model city… better than 85 other teams from California and from across the country.
Sun Valley students initially placed in the “top two” at the California Regional Competition, which included 17 teams, and then travelled to compete at the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. At the national competition held in June, 10 teams competed. The top two teams from California, Florida, Louisiana, Ohio and the Washington DC/Virginia areas were invited to compete at the national competition.
Members of the winning team were Carl Nartia, Jesus Pena and Raul Prado. They were supported by their teammates Mario Murillo and Cristian Mendoza and were coached by engineering teachers Dave Hicks, Angela Yamagata and mentor Bob Whitten.
The “story behind the story” for this district and school is rigorous Project Lead the Way (PLTW) a-g approved curriculum and professional development. Teacher Dave Hicks said the two-week “boot camp” training was very challenging, but helped established the foundation for the schools engineering program. PLTW’s program provides a professional learning community, common assessments, and a well-articulated career pathway for students interested in the engineering field. Due to the interest of educators and great employment opportunities for students, PLTW is implementing a computer science program pathway. Programming the robots was part of the competition.
About Project Lead The Way
PLTW offers high school and middle school programs and is beginning to offer elementary curriculum and programs: http://www.santarosaacademy.org/news/pltw-elementary-at-sra/
PLTW stands out as an effective program that includes professional development, high quality curriculum and effective professional learning communities. PLTW was nationally recognized for outstanding quality.
PLTW partners with companies, colleges and universities to provide financial support, professional learning opportunities, post-secondary pathways, and articulated credit.
PLTW, while historically an engineering and biomedical science program, is now moving into computer science… perfect timing for the upcoming CTE Pathways grant opportunity. PLTW has courses that form a comprehensive ICT pathway and is continuing to increase its offering in this field.
For more information about PLTW in California contact:
Duane Crum, State Leader, PLTW at: dbcrum@live.com