Terri Tessmann, teacher
Teacher, Greendale High School
Master Teacher, Project Lead The Way
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is one of the most successful programs to encourage middle and high school students to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The hands-on, project-based engineering and biomedical sciences courses engage students, expose them to areas of study that they typically do not pursue, and provide them with a foundation and proven path to college and career success.
Terri Tessmann has been teaching the PLTW Engineering Program at Greendale (Wis.) High School since 2004, and the Biomedical Sciences (BMS) Program since 2008. She said her students love the classes and the program is growing every year.
PLTW has had a tremendous impact on Tessmann’s students, and she said there are endless opportunities, “aha” moments and success stories in her classrooms. At the end of the school year her students have written that the courses have changed their lives. “I had one student who was a habitual truant. She started coming to school for the first year BMS program, because it ‘got her out of bed because she didn’t want to miss anything.’ She was one of the first in her family to graduate high school, and she is now attending college for nursing.”
In addition to teaching PTLW at Greendale High School, Tessmann is a master teacher for PLTW. She spends her summers travelling throughout the country to train middle and high school teachers in the PLTW curriculum so that they can offer the courses at their respective schools.