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The Bartlesville Public School District has been recognized as a Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Distinguished District for its outstanding STEM program at every district school. All six of the district’s elementary schools, both of its middle schools, and its high school each earned Distinguished School status for 2019-20. Bartlesville is one of just 24 districts across the U.S. to receive this honor and the only district with that status in Oklahoma. PLTW is a nonprofit organization that provides STEM curricula to millions of PreK-12 students and teachers in schools across the U.S.

Bartlesville Public Schools offers PLTW Launch (K-5), PLTW Gateway (6-8), and PLTW Computer Science and Engineering courses at Bartlesville High School, with additional Engineering offerings available for students at Tri-County Tech.

Bartlesville Superintendent Chuck McCauley commented, “We are proud of this recognition for the quality, breadth, and depth of our STEM offerings in Bartlesville. This achievement reflects the hard work of many students and teachers as well as tremendous community support. The Bartlesville Public Schools Foundation joined with community partners, including ConocoPhillips, to fund our elementary PLTW Launch program. Our middle school and high school programs are housed in suites provided by a major grant from Phillips 66 and depend on state and federal funding as well as local bond issues. ConocoPhillips has been a continuing partner for the Technology Student Association in our secondary schools. We are truly blessed.”

This is the first year the district’s six elementary schools could qualify as Distinguished Schools, which required that at least two STEM modules be offered at each grade level with 75% or higher participation in the prior year. The district curriculum will expand this next year to four STEM modules in every classroom from kindergarten through fifth grade. Only 14 other elementary schools in the state have received Distinguished School recognition for 2019-20.

This was the third consecutive year that both Central and Madison middle schools were named Distinguished Schools. That recognition requires that Gateway to Technology units be offered at each grade level, that at least 50% of the student body participates, and at least 25% of the students advancing to high school participate in two or more units while in middle school. There are only seven other middle schools in the state which received that recognition for 2019-20.

This is the second consecutive year that Bartlesville High School’s Computer Science program earned Distinguished School status, and the Engineering program at Bartlesville High School and Tri-County Tech also again received that recognition this year. So two of the 11 high school programs in the state receiving Distinguished School recognition are in Bartlesville. They had to provide at least three high school courses in the pathway, have at least 25% of students participate or have 33% of participating students take two or more PLTW courses, and have 95% of PLTW students complete End-of-Course assessments.

Through PLTW programs, students develop in-demand knowledge and skills that they will use both in school and for the rest of their lives, on any career path they take. As PLTW students progress through grades PreK-12, they are empowered to engage in problem-solving and process thinking, develop technical knowledge and skills, build communication skills, and explore career opportunities. Bartlesville now offers complete computer science and engineering pathways from kindergarten through 12th grade.

“It is a great honor to recognize Bartlesville Public Schools for their commitment to providing students with an excellent educational experience,” said Dr. Vince Bertram, President and CEO of PLTW. “They should be very proud of their work to ensure students have the knowledge and skills to be career-ready and successful on any career path they choose.” 

Bartlesville Public Schools is part of a community of public schools, colleges and universities, and corporate and philanthropic partners across the country united around a passion for providing students with inspiring, engaging, and empowering learning opportunities. For more information about PLTW’s recognition program, visit pltw.org/our-programs/program-recognition.