Proposal: District 97
Project Lead the Way
Gateway to Technology
March 19, 2013

“Oak Park Elementary School District 97 will be nationally recognized for preparing students to pursue college and career opportunities through purposeful and respectful learning experiences.”
Oak Park Elementary School District 97
Vision Statement, 2012

Beginning in 1901,the Nobel
Prize in Physics and Chemistry have been awarded to 26 chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, and metallurgical engineers. Let’s lay the ground work to add a D97 graduate to this pantheon!

• Our nation is calling out for engineers
• The referendum promised curricular innovation
• Over the past seven years, D97 has supported a hugely successful robotics program
• The OPEF robotics program has energized and excited students and the community about the district’s next steps in technological arena
It is time for that next step…

A challenging, hands-on, three-year Project Based,
Middle School Design program that introduces sixth, seventh, and eighth graders elements of:
 S cience
 T echnology
 E ngineering
 M ath

A D97 classes where students:
• Demonstrate creative and critical thinking and problem solving skills
• Develop time management skills and learn to meet project deadlines
• Experience and practice the professional code of conduct required in the hard sciences
• Acquire an ability to cope with failure, learn from the experience, and try again
• WORK HARD, LEARN, and have FUN

A D97 course that embodies the
Common Core State Standards expectations of developing students who:
• research, analyze, create, and communicate
• are digital rhetors , who communicate in print, orally, and digitally
• work as individuals and team members

• The PLTW Gateway To Technology (GTT) is a national program that features a project-based curriculum designed to challenge and engage the natural curiosity and imagination of middle school students.
• Students envision, design and test their ideas with the same advanced modeling software used by companies like Lockheed Martin, Intel and Sprint.
• The knowledge that students gain and the skills they build from GTT create a strong foundation for further
STEM learning in high school and beyond.

Year of
Implementation
Year 1
2013-14
Grade 6
Design &
Modeling
Grade 7 Grade 8
(Elective Choice)
Design & Modeling
(Elective Choice)
Design & Modeling
Year 2
2014-15
Year 3
2015-16
Design &
Modeling
Design &
Modeling
Automated
Robotics
Green Architecture
Automated
Robotics
Green Architecture
Medical Detectives
(Elective Choices)
Design & Modeling
Automated Robotics
Green Architecture
Automated Robotics
Green Architecture
Medical Detectives
Advanced Robotics

Design and Modeling Course
Key Concepts:
• What is Engineering?
• Design Process
• Measurement
• Sketching and Dimensioning
Techniques
• Designing for Production

Automation and Robotics Course
Key Concepts:
• What is Automation and
Robotics?
• Mechanical Systems
• Automated Systems
• Sample Projects:
 Windmill Design
 Simulated Factory Cell

Green Architecture
Key Concepts:
• Introduction to Sustainable
Architecture
• Architectural Basis
• Architecture Challenges

Medical Detectives
Key Concepts:
• Introduction to Medical Careers
• Introduction to Vital Signs
• Introduction to Treatment of
Diseases
• Introduction to the Human
Body System
• Introduction to Crime Scene
Analysis

Description
Two week training for Design &
Modeling in July 2013
Annual Participation Fee
Design Modeling Equipment –
One Time Cost
Unit Cost
$1175
$750
$500
Consumables (Print Shop)
Quantity
4 Teachers
Total
$4,700
2 (One per school) $1,500
6 classroom sets
(4 sets for the 6 th grade and 2 for a
7 th /8 th grade option)
$3,000
$300
Total: $9,500

Description Unit Cost
Annual Participation Fee $750 2
Quantity
4 Teachers Training: Automated Robotics &
Green Architecture
$1,175
Automated Robotics
Equipment One Time Cost
$6000 2
$400 4 Green Architecture
Equipment One Time Cost
Consumables – Print Shop
Total :
Total
$1,500
$4,700
$12,000
$1,600
$1,200
$22,000

Description Unit Cost
Annual Participation Fee
Training Green Medical
Detectives
Medical Detectives
Equipment One Time Cost
$750
$1,175
$1000
Quantity
2
2 Teachers
2 classroom sets
2 classroom sets Advanced Robotics
Equipment One Time Cost
Consumables – Print Shop
$6000
Total :
Total
$1500
$2350
$2,000
$12,000
$1,2000
$17,850

 2 labs of
 28 Computers
 A Ceiling Mounted Projector
 One Printer (could be shared between the labs)
 An abundance of Storage for Equipment and
Projects
 Bins
 Shelves

Description Unit
Cost
$1,600 Student Laptops
* Meet the GTT Specs
Teacher Laptops
(Same specs as students)
Printer
$1,600
$600
Quantity
28 x 4 = 112
(2 Labs per building)
4
2
Sub-Total
Less Planned Computer
Replacement Costs
Total:
Total
$179,200
$6,400
$1,200
$186,800
$90,000
$96,800

• All PLTW curriculum is online; no textbook purchase will be required
• After initial start up fees only consumables and the participation fee will need to be purchased each year

 The focus of MYP technology is to challenge students to use both materials and computer applications to solve problems using the design cycle.
 IB and GTT complement each other well!

• OPRF is a certified PLTW school.
• We have met with the teachers and they are excited about the possibility of a GTT program at the middle schools.
• Our program will help better prepare the students for high school and the challenges of life beyond.