Proposal: An Alternative Pre-Engineering Program

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is an elite Pre-Engineering program that offers rigorous curriculums to prepare students to complete Engineering programs on a tertiary level. To date I have no objection to the program; however, my school is constantly enrolling students in the program who either lack the academics to successfully complete the courses with a minimum C- grade; or, they have no desire to pursue an Engineering career. Since when di ti become okay to place students in courses they will not be successful to complete?

Since former President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, students who have no plans to attend college are being left behind in record numbers each school year. Are educators so wrapped up in both test and graduation scores where they fail to prepare students to earn a specific trade in which they can use after high school? My two uncles had no intention to attend college; yet, the oldest one earned certification in Masonry in high school in order to work in construction, and the youngest completed business courses to comprehend manufacturing productivity and efficiency in order to become a supervisor for a textile company until it relocated.

Why haven't educators proposed an alternate career path for students to be successful even when they have limited reading, writing and mathematics skills? Will this alternative allow them to remain successful even when robots replace their positions in a manufacturing setting?

09-29: Will the new Tech Ed program be successful?

The current Technology Education program has record low EOC VOCATS (state) exams throughout the state. Teachers are transferring from high school to middle school level at an alarming rate because the current courses lack enough fundamental skills to prepare students to pursue S.T.E.M. careers beyond high school. To prevent the Technology Education program from becoming a "dumping ground", Guilford County Schools has received permission from the North Carolina Department of Instruction (NC DPI) to implement a rigorous program that has provided data of being effective in nearby states whose students attend and are successful North Carolina colleges and universities offering S.T.E.M. degrees.

Attached are the courses that will become available for Guilford County Schools high schools. Please review them and explain whether these courses will prepare students to attend college if not enter corporate America after high school.