New Mexico State University

Project Lead the Way has been nationally recognized as one of just four high-quality STEM programs that are immediately scalable on a national level. Of the four programs selected, PLTW is the only in-school STEM curricular program for elementary-, middle- and high-school students and the only program offering a comprehensive professional development model for teachers.

Change the Equation (CTEq), a nonprofit, nonpartisan, CEO-led initiative that is mobilizing the business community to improve K-12 STEM learning in the U.S., made the announcement.

PLTW is currently offered in more than 5,200 schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In New Mexico, 33 schools are actively engaged in the delivery of PLTW curriculum. As the New Mexico affiliate university partner, New Mexico State University College of Engineering is working diligently with school districts across the state to expand PLTW opportunities that will encourage more students to study STEM disciplines and pursue related careers.

"We take great pride in our partnership with PLTW to expand opportunities in STEM education to students across New Mexico. Our focus is to build capacity within the STEM pipeline that will support economic development opportunities statewide," said Patricia A. Sullivan, assistant dean of engineering at NMSU.

"Project Lead the Way is honored to receive this endorsement from Change the Equation. STEM education has never been more important for our country, and we look forward to working with CTEq and their partnering organizations to provide all students with a rigorous K-12 experience that will ignite their curiosity and help them develop essential critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration skills," said PLTW President and CEO Vince Bertram.

Selection to the elite list of programs was based on an application process, followed by a rigorous vetting process. CTEq invited all programs in its existing STEMworks database to voluntarily submit additional evidence of their ability to scale nationally. The nonprofit education research and evaluation firm WestEd then evaluated the organizations for their quality and scalability.

"The corporate community is eager for excellent STEM programs...which can be scaled quickly to impact more children in more communities across the U.S.," said CTEq CEO Linda P. Rosen. "In naming these programs, CTEq's coalition of companies signals that it is committed to strategic giving to make high-quality STEM learning opportunities available nationally as soon as possible."