HOUSTON – Aug. 18, 2016 – The Spring Independent School District’s Board of Trustees recently approved a memorandum of understanding between the district and the University of Texas at Tyler to allow eligible Spring ISD high school students to enroll in online, dual-credit, college-level courses as part of the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) high school engineering pathway.

Offered through UT Tyler’s Partners in Academic Concurrent Enrollment (PACE) Program, the partnership will allow Dekaney and Spring High School students who are following the PLTW engineering pathway to enroll in select UT Tyler courses, which will be co-taught by university faculty and Spring ISD teachers. Students successfully completing the courses will receive academic credit and transcripts from both the university and their high school, providing them with transferable college credit and helping to prepare them for the rigors of postsecondary study while simultaneously fulfilling requirements toward their high school diploma.

“This partnership strengthens Spring ISD’s commitment – articulated in our strategic plan Every Child 2020 – to providing a strong college readiness support structure and instilling postsecondary readiness in our graduates,” said Cynthia Williams, the district’s director of career and technical education. “The sciences, and engineering in particular, are great fields to encourage our kids to study, and we’re excited to be able to offer this dual-credit opportunity.”

More than 8,000 elementary, middle and high schools across the country offer Project Lead the Way programs, which are designed to help students interested in scientific and engineering fields to develop in-demand knowledge and skills through targeted training grounded in project-based learning and real-world applications.