Two PUSD High Schools Recognized as 2023 Project Lead the Way Distinguished Schools

The Poway Unified School District is proud to announce that both Poway High School and Mt. Carmel High School have received national recognition from Project lead the Way (PLTS) due to exemplary results from their PLTW programs.

The prestigious PLTW Distinguished School recognition is for PLTW high school programs (9-12), and is based on the number of PLTW curricular offerings available to students, the number of students engaged in PLTW, and student success in their PLTW coursework through pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science. Through PLTW programs, students develop the in-demand knowledge and transportable skills that they will use both in school and for the rest of their lives, on any career path they take. Students are empowered to engage in problem solving and process thinking, develop technical knowledge and skills, build communication skills, and explore career opportunities.

To be eligible for the designation, the schools had to meet the following criteria: 

• Had 25% of students or more participate in PLTW High School courses, or of those who participated during the 2020-21 school year, at least 33 percent took two or more PLTW courses during their tenure at the school;
• Offer and had students enrolled in at least three PLTW High School courses;
• Had strategies and procedures in place that support reasonably proportional representation with regard to race, ethnicity, poverty, gender, and can support such claims with relevant data. 

Poway High's Engineering Academy has earned the Distinguished School distinction five years in a row. There are three areas of focus in the Poway High Academy/Pathway: Mechanical Engineering, Civil Architecture, and Computer Engineering. For more information, visit their website: http://www.phsengineeringacademy.com/ 

Approximately 12,200 elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia offer PLTW programs. For more information on Project Lead The Way, visit pltw.org.