PLTW Teacher, ECC Adjunct Recognized Nationally

East Central College adjunct instructor and St. Clair High School engineering teacher Maurice Gritzman is being recognized nationally for the work he is doing with engineering students.

Gritzman was named an Outstanding Engineering Teacher by the National Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a not-for-profit organization that promotes transformative learning experiences for students. More than 12,400 schools offer PLTW to millions of students across the country.

The SCHS PLTW is a unique program due to the collaborative partnership between the high school and ECC. Four days a week, Gritzman leads his students through their engineering studies at both SCHS and in the labs in ECC’s Business and Industry Center (BIC).

He noted that the National PLTW award brings to light the work that SCHS and ECC are doing together, and how it greatly benefits his students.

“This award gives recognition to the St. Clair program, and it highlights what ECC is doing to benefit students. It also shows the kind of post-secondary opportunities students will find at ECC,” he said. “I am very happy for these students because a recognition like this showcases what they have been able to accomplish — without them, we wouldn’t be here.”

The students learn to model projects using Solidworks (computer-aided drawing and engineering application) in the BIC labs, and then they build their projects using the college’s Precision Machining equipment.

“PLTW helps us link to all of the resources these students have available, and it has helped us develop relationships that can be used to gain real-world experience,” Gritzman added.

In addition to utilizing equipment and technology that is unavailable at the high school, the SCHS students also earn ECC dual credit courses for college.

To learn more about PLTW-e and the collaboration between ECC and SCHS, visit www.eastcentral.edu/blog/video-ecc-and-st-clair-high-school-engineering-partnership-continues/.