Project Lead The Way receives $5 million Lilly grant
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Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded Project Lead The Way (PLTW) a three-year, $5 million grant for STEM education at K-12 schools across the state.
Indiana elementary, middle and high schools are eligible to apply for funding to offset PLTW program costs. Funding will be applied towards teacher training in the organization’s curriculum, equipment and purchase of supplies as well as professional development.
The Indianapolis-based organization provides educators in the U.S. with resources to enable students to develop STEM competencies, critical and creative thinking skills, as well as communication and ethical reasoning.
“With this support from Lilly Endowment, we will serve more students across the state of Indiana and help prepare them with the knowledge and skills they need for success in school and in the future workforce,” PLTW President David Dimmett said in a news release. “This commitment will also benefit Hoosier educators by providing them with research-based and relevant professional development, bringing hands-on learning to more Indiana classrooms.”
Kids benefit from early exposure to STEM careers, preparing them for jobs of the future, the organization said. The Indiana Department of Education includes the PLTW curriculum in its high-quality curricular materials advisory list for K-5 Science, K-12 Computer Science and 9-12 Engineering.
“Given the number of career opportunities in the life sciences and other STEM-related industry sectors that are available in communities across the state, it’s important that Indiana students have access to high-quality STEM education opportunities,” Lilly Endowment Vice President for Education Ted Maple said. “Project Lead The Way’s programs are well respected and in great demand, and we are pleased to provide this support to help make these opportunities more available to schools statewide.”
PLTW is currently in over 900 schools across Indiana with more than 1,200 active programs led by more than 6,000 teachers. The program hopes to have impacted 80,000 students and teachers by 2028.