November 1 Illinois PLTW Counselors, Teachers, Administrators Conference Draws a Crowd

The University of Illinois hosted its second Illinois Project Lead the Way Counselors Conference on November 1, 2006 at the Starved Rock Conference Center in Utica. More than 125 attendees from around the state included high school counselors, administrators, and teachers; university and career center faculty; and representatives from business, industry, and Illinois state government agencies.

The Conference opened with a PLTW information summary review of “The National Picture and an Illinois Snapshot”, which outlined national trends and current statewide involvement levels of 42 school.  Twelve students and several staff from Byron High School, LaSalle-Peru Area Career Center, Moline High School, and Winnebago Middle School were special guest presenters at the conference, demonstrating classroom projects and discussing their experiences with the audience.

Keynote speaker Patrick Walsh, a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who is involved with an Engineers Without Borders solar LED project in India, shared his experiences and encouraged others to explore the wide range of engineering career options.

During the afternoon, more than 30 of the state’s more than 80 trained PLTW teachers met in networking sessions facilitated by Illinois Central College instructor Bob Bloompott and University of Illinois Chicago and Urbana-Champaign engineering and math/science faculty. 

Administrators, counselors, and community partners benefited from insights about counseling students and involving community partners in local and regional PTLW programs.  Speakers included Michael McKenna (Peoria Woodruff High School), Susan Sherwood (PERFECT), George Barta, Thornton Township High school District 205), Jeff Jerdee (Township High School District 214/Arlington Heights), LaSalle-Peru Area Career Center Partnership Committee members (Mary Stouffer, Joe Deters, Dan Wrobleski), and Vermilion Advantage community development partnership leader Vicki Haugen and Kim Kuchenbrod. 

The Conference included displays of student work and exhibits providing information about statewide PLTW participation, teacher resources, and engineering higher education programs offered by PLTW Affiliate University of Illinois (Chicago and Urbana-Champaign) and PLTW Associate Bradley University.

For further information about this or other Illinois professional development activities, contact University of Illinois PLTW Affiliate Director Brenda Pacey .