ELIZABETH SETON HIGH SCHOOL LauncheS LeaD PROgRam

Elizabeth Seton High School
Launches the LEAD Program
LEAD (Learning Engineering And
Design) is set to begin in August,
2012 when students interested
in engineering and technology begin a
four year program that combines science,
technology, engineering and math
(STEM) into one curriculum.
While STEM programs have already
been initiated in public high schools,
Elizabeth Seton High School’s program
will mark the first all-female engineering
curriculum among high schools in the
Washington, DC area. Students who are
accepted into this program will engage
in hands-on exploration, which includes
designing, building, and testing as they
apply the skills that they have learned
to real world problems around them
and gradually progress to more global
issues. Students will use their ingenuity
with tools, building materials, robotics,
electronics, etc. in laboratory classrooms
to create models and products for the
world in which they live.
Why LEAD?
According to Sister Ellen Marie Hagar,
“LEAD is much more than a new
curriculum at Seton. It is Elizabeth
Seton High School’s strategic response
to educational, business, and economic
needs that face our country.” The
National Science Foundation supports
Sister Ellen Marie’s belief saying,
“Innovation in Information Technology
has driven economic growth, has been
the underlying factor of many of our
scientific advances and has ensured our
national security. It is not surprising that
predicted IT job growth is very strong.
Yet students are not majoring in this field
in sufficient numbers.”
Dean Kern, Deputy Director of the Office
of Education of NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center offers additional support for
this program saying, “Like Elizabeth Seton
High School, NASA too has recognized
how critical it is to ensure that students
from our neighboring communities are
equally participating in advanced STEM
activities. Women, especially African-
American and Hispanic women, have
held a disproportionately lower share of
STEM undergraduate degrees, particularly
in engineering. Elizabeth Seton High
School has strategically stepped into
this gap to expand opportunities for
women in STEM fields through the
implementation of an academically
rigorous and integrated engineering
program. Furthermore we are pleased to
be in partnership with Elizabeth Seton
High School to further engage and inspire
high students in STEM.”
By 2020, the U.S.
Department of Labor
projects that 150, 000
new jobs will be available;
however, only 50,000
college graduates will
be prepared for these
jobs because of their
lack of technological
education.
LEAD changes the definition of
technological literacy to include
strategies that allow students to build
their own understanding of engineering
design, the process that transforms ideas
into manufactured products that impact
the environment, society, and our global
developments. Technology continues
to change every aspect of our natural
world. LEAD enables students to learn
principles and designs that allow them to
assess, evaluate and discern technological
values and ethics as technology affects
our behavior, our lifestyle, and our global
perspective.
LEAD teaches students to work
together in teams in an environment
where constructive feedback, project
management, and participatory learning
are valued. This type of collaboration
encourages students to share ideas, assist
one another in projects, and design
solutions together. It promotes students’
abilities to network with others and
deepens their appreciation for diverse
thinking in problem-solving situations.
LEAD prepares students for a wide variety
of career paths. Designing and applying
technology is vital for those who enter the
work force today as technology plays an
ever increasing role both in our economic
vitality and our environmental survival.
Alumnae support
for LEAD
Elizabeth Seton High School is especially
pleased to have JoEllen Gray, a 1986
graduate and a math teacher of l5 years
at Seton, become the LEAD instructor.
JoEllen eagerly accepted this position
saying, “I am thrilled to be part of such
an exciting program. This is a great
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