History is being made in the halls of Charles Page High School. Barrett Andrews, Ethan Bise, and Katie Smith will be the first four-year participants in the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Biomedical Innovation (BI) program to graduate from Charles Page this May. With the program growing, we expect the number of students that will have completed four years of the PLTW program to rise. When asked why they elected to take a career specific course as one of their electives, Barrett Andrews responded, “There’s no substitute for real-world, hands-on learning.” Katie Smith said, “By challenging myself as a freshman and staying committed to this program it has inspired me to pursue a career in the medical field.”
The PLTW BI class has been working on environmental exposures to toxic substances. Students have been investigating various drinking water contaminants and their effect on human health. They collected samples from local lakes and streams. They performed a series of tests to determine what contaminants, if any, are present in the local water samples they collected. Part of the lab involves research about possible contaminated areas in your region. This led students to discover the history of Pitcher, Oklahoma in which we were able to take a field trip to collect water samples for testing. Barrett, Ethan, and Katie presented their findings to several CPHS/FA administrators as well as Superintendent Sherry Durkee and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Shawn Beard.
With Charles Page offering a more individualized education focused on career pathways, students have the opportunity of selecting their courses based on their own career interests. Ethan Bise said he is “seeing a shift at Charles Page heading in a more career-oriented direction.” The focus of CPHS is to guide students toward their college and career goals and provide them with avenues to achieve their goals. Barrett Andews’ advice to underclassmen is “Don’t be afraid of challenging yourself. It’s less about the grades and more about challenging yourself and getting a deeper understanding of what you would experience in an actual career.”.
Course selection at Charles Page High School and Freshman Academy will begin Tuesday, April 27, and the process will last two weeks.