ST. CHARLES – Jiya Patel wanted a challenge.

Not only that, but the 16-year-old junior at St. Charles East High School also wanted a class involving math. That – and her interest in engineering – led her to take Michael DeWees' Project Lead the Way course titled Principles of Engineering.

Patel, who was working with 18-year-old senior Ana Rivero on a recent school day, said the tasks can be frustrating at times as they often involve a lot of numbers.

“And it’s easy to make a mistake while plugging it into your calculator,” she said.

But she enjoys working in pairs and the challenge the course brings.

So must other students.

St. Charles School District 303 introduced Project Lead the Way – a nationwide program focusing on science, technology, engineering and math education – at the high schools seven years ago. Since then, enrollment at East has grown from about 40 students to 200, with 250 anticipated for the next academic year, DeWees said, noting St. Charles North High School has similar enrollments.

Additionally, Project Lead the Way courses were added at the middle schools a few years ago, and modules are being piloted this year for select grades at Wild Rose and Fox Ridge elementary schools.

Jason Pearson, the area assistant superintendent for the district’s middle and high schools, said he can’t say enough about how outstanding the program is.

It not only is “extremely engaging,” Pearson said, but it also is “extremely rigorous” – a “powerful combination.”

The program’s growth is a testament to its highly qualified teachers, Pearson said. Three – DeWees and Haines Middle School educators Rob Harmon and Ed Coyle – are Project Lead the Way master teachers.

DeWees, who recently earned that honor, said his responsibilities outside of the classroom include participating in curriculum discussions at the national level and training other adults how to teach the material.

At East, he said, he sometimes teaches students throughout their high school career.

“I get to see their growth,” he said.

The students in his Principles of Engineering course maintain their own engineer’s notebook, which in sophomore Davis Frey’s case is filled with handwritten notes and sketches as well as photographs documenting past assignments.

Frey, 16, said his favorite task involved making a device that would sort six materials, including wood, steel and aluminum, that were shaped like marbles.

Fellow student Harrison King, also a 16-year-old sophomore, noted that while everyone worked with the same restrictions they came up with different solutions.

But those solutions didn’t come easily, the teens said.

A lot of trial and error was involved, King said, with Frey noting “it took a while” to build something that worked.

Know more

St. Charles School District 303 offers various Project Lead the Way courses.

Here is a sample of the high school course list:

• Introduction to Engineering Design – Students use industry standard 3-D modeling software to help them design solutions to solve proposed problems.

• Aerospace Engineering – The course explores the evolution of flight, navigation and control, flight fundamentals, aerospace materials, propulsion, space travel and orbital mechanics.

• Digital Electronics – The course is the foundation of all modern electronic devices, such as cellphones, MP3 players, laptop computers, digital cameras and high-definition TVs.

Here is a sample of the modules being piloted at the elementary school level:

• Light and Sound – First-graders investigate light and sound, including vibration from sound waves and the effect of different materials on the path of a beam of light.

• Stability and Motion: Forces and Interactions – Third-graders explore such machines as wheel and axles, levers and the inclined plane as they investigate the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

• Robotics and Automation – Fifth-graders learn how robots are used in today’s world and the impact of their use on society and the environment.