Westport receives grant funds to help prepare students for life after school

WESTPORT – Superintendent Gary Reese is pleased to announce that the Macomber Primary School and Westport Elementary School recently received grant funds to offer an expanded curricular program from Project Lead The Way (PLTW) that will better prepare students for career success.

PLTW is a nonprofit organization that provides a transformative learning experience for pre-K-12 students and teachers through pathways in computer science, engineering and biomedical science. The Macomber School and Westport Elementary School will join more than 12,200 schools across the country offering PLTW programs to millions of students.

“We are so excited to be a part of this partnership with Project Lead the Way,” Superintendent Reese said, “We are just finishing our second year of program implementation in the Westport Junior & Senior High and have seen incredible results with regards to students’ ability to critically reflect on topics in science, technology and engineering. With this grant funding, we will now be able to offer this high quality curriculum to students at all grade levels.”

The Macomber and Westport schools are just two of 82 schools across the state to receive the grant, which is supported by the Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito administration, the One8 Foundation and Mass STEM Hub.

“Our administration is committed to closing the opportunity and achievement gaps in STEM fields for students across the Commonwealth,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “Partnerships with organizations like Project Lead the Way allow us to provide children with opportunities to learn hands-on, real-world STEM skills and put them on a pathway to success in the classroom and beyond.”

The grant funds will be used to strengthen its PLTW program with PLTW Launch. Funds from the grant will also support teacher professional development and the purchase of materials and equipment that will be used in the hands-on applied learning courses.

“We are proud to partner with Westport to empower students to develop the in-demand knowledge and transportable skills to thrive in our evolving world,” said Vince Bertram, PLTW President and CEO. “Thank you to the Governor’s Office, the One8 Foundation, and Mass STEM Hub for making these grants possible and further investing in Massachusetts’s students.”

Joanna Jacobson, President of the One8 Foundation, said, “We are thrilled to support educators across the Commonwealth to bring applied learning and STEM education to their schools in a way that has students learning rigorous STEM content and then applying it to solve real world problems.”