The Hazelwood School District is one of three public school districts in the state to be among the first in the country to receive national certification for its Project Lead the Way® Biomedical Science ™ program.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced the certified districts - Blue Springs, Hazelwood and St. Joseph - on its website. A total of seven high schools in the state are included in the certification. 

HSD received certification in early May, making it the first district in the state of Missouri to earn the distinction.

“We are delighted that Missouri high schools are, in fact, leading the way for other states with the implementation of a high-quality curriculum that will prepare students to excel in this critical field,” said Commissioner of Education Chris L. Nicastro.  “The biomedical and health care fields are expected to generate one out of every five new jobs by 2018. Therefore, our schools and students need to put greater emphasis on math, science and technology.”

Certification in the PLTW Biomedical Science ™ program means that students in the District who earn 80 percent in the class and score at least 70 percent on the End-of-Course exam will have an opportunity to receive three hours of college credit for each of the courses offered by HSD. A tuition fee will be charged by the university accepting the credit.

A certification team visited Hazelwood Central, Hazelwood East and Hazelwood West high schools to review the program. The team included Dr. Ralph Flori of Missouri University of Science and Technology, who oversees certification for PLTW programs in the state; Janice Rehak, health occupations supervisor, DESE; Steve Ayotte, career and technical education, Rockwood School District; and Brandon Martin, assistant principal, Blue Springs School District.

Gail Stewart, special areas coordinator, said the review looked at aspects such as instructors teaching the curriculum; required equipment and software; learning environments conducive to teaching the program; active engagement of students and knowledge of curriculum and vocabulary; and support from guidance counselors and building administrators. A round table discussion with parents, students, biomedical instructors and principals was also part of the review process.

“The students were amazing. They blew us away with what they had to say about the program,” said Stewart.

Stewart said the review team “especially commended our biomedical teachers for their work on the national curriculum and for serving as master teachers during the summer, training teachers from districts around the nation.”

The team’s certification report included a category for Outstanding Practices. The District was noted for its leadership role in helping implement the program curriculum and teacher involvement in writing and piloting the curriculum. The classrooms and equipment were deemed “excellent,” and the cooperation between the PLTW Biomedical program and the District’s health occupations program for seniors was identified as a “best practice.”

Currently, more than 425 students in the District are enrolled in biomedical courses. Enrollment in the program is projected to increase by 10 percent in fall 2010.  

According to DESE, the PLTW Biomedical Science™ program began as a pilot in five highs schools in 2007-2008 – Hazelwood Central, Hazelwood East, Hazelwood West, Carthage Senior High School and Summit Technology Academy.

In 2009-2010, DESE reported 13 high schools in Missouri being involved in the PLTW Biomedical Science™ program.