Click this link for a PDF version of the PLTW Engineering/ Manufacturing Four Year Schedule
Student Testimonials
“PLTW Engineering is a fun hands-on learning experience. You get to be close with your teachers over the 4 years you have with them and your fellow classmates. You’re free to your own mind on what to build during your projects, and it’s kinda like art class but in its own simplistic form. I think that everyone that is thinking about taking this course should go for it 100%!”
-Rayan Kasbi (HHS Class of 2025)
Program Overview
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is a nationally recognized provider of rigorous curriculum in Engineering, Biomedical Science, and Computer Science.
In the HHS PLTW Engineering/ Manufacturing Program students use professional lab equipment, expert guidance from teachers and their own curiosity to explore aspects of mechanical and electrical engineering as well as electronics, solve real-world problems, and prepare for college and careers in engineering and technology. Along the way, students engage in career awareness & exploration, interact with guest presenters from local companies and organizations, visit colleges & university engineering programs, tour business facilities, and earn industry-recognized credentials. Students complete a specific four-year sequence of PLTW courses in parallel with HHS science courses (see sample schedules below).
Admission to the HHS PLTW Engineering Program occurs through an application process (see the tab above) in students’ eighth grade. By accepting admission to this Program, students agree to making a four year commitment to completing this course of study. HHS students not enrolled in the Haverhill Public Schools in the eighth grade should contact the Program leaders to review options for enrolling in Engineering courses.
Skills Development
In this program, students will develop the following engineering design process skills:
- Design of mechanical products/ systems to solve a problem
- Brainstorm improvements to a mechanical consumer product based on reverse engineering
- Work collaboratively on a design team to design a solution to a problem
- Improve a system design that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy
- Justify material choice in the design of a solution
- Improve the efficiency of a solution by modifying hardware and software
- Design a circuit to meet voltage, current or resistance design requirements.
In this program students will also develop the following computational and analytical skills,
- Collect and analyze data to make predictions and inform engineering decisions
- Perform precision measurement using common engineering tools
- Optimize the structure and/ or function of a mechanical system
- Solve for external and internal forces of a given truss
- Use Kirchoff’s Law to calculate current, resistance, and voltage in a circuit
- Write programming code for a project involving a sequence or system of tasks
- Translate circuit designs, truth tables, design requirements into logic expressions
Program Course Progressions
- Introduction to Engineering Design (9th Grade) – Students dig deep into the engineering design process, applying math, science, and engineering standards to hands-on projects like designing a new toy or improving an existing product.
- Principles of Engineering (10th Grade) – Students explore a broad range of engineering topics including mechanisms, strength of structure and materials, and automation, and then they apply what they know to take on challenges like designing a self-powered car.
- Digital Electronics (11th Grade) – Students explore the foundations of computing by engaging in circuit design processes to create combinational logic and sequential logic (memory) as electrical engineers do in industry.
- Computer Integrated Manufacturing (Coming for SY2024-2025 in 12th Grade) – Students discover and explore manufacturing processes, product design, robotics, and automation, and then they apply what they have learned to design solutions for real-world manufacturing problems.
- Capstone (12th grade) – In the Capstone course students complete a project on a real-world engineering topic that incorporates much of the content that they have learned over the previous three school years.
Sample Four-Year Student Schedule
Industry Connections
Industry-Recognized Credentials
- OSHA 10-hour training
- Autodesk Fusion 360
Local, State, and Industry Partners
- MassHire
- Haverhill Chamber of Commerce
- Straumann, Andover
Comparative Salary Data (April – June 2023)
Data below are for the Essex County area which includes cities like Andover, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lynn, Peabody and Salem Massachusetts.
Entry level full-time jobs in these fields typically start at $20-$25 per hour and include benefits like health and dental insurance, retirement funding, paid sick leave and vacation time.
Engineers are important workers in Manufacturing because they design, prototype, and redesign the products that are manufactured (or built).
Architectural and Engineering Services employed (on average) 2,798 people and the average annual salary = $120,950.
Semiconductor and Electrical Component Manufacturing employed (on average) 2,038 people and the average annual salary = $90,750.
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing employed (on average) 6,264 people and the average annual salary = $118,500.
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing employed (on average) 6,551 people and the average annual salary = $142,650.
Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing employed (on average) 2,153 people and the average annual salary = $81,500.
Chemical Manufacturing employed (on average) 2,359 people and the annual salary = $89,300.
For comparison, Retail businesses such as supermarkets and department stores like Target employed (on average) 35,234 people and the average annual salary = $39,100.
College & Career Trajectories – Training and Jobs After High School
Click this link for a PDF version of the PLTW Engineering/ Manufacturing College & Career Trajectories
Massachusetts State College & University Two-Year and Four-Year Degree Programs in Engineering and Manufacturing
Northern Essex Community College (Haverhill & Lawrence, MA)
[The Haverhill campus is only 5 miles from Haverhill HS!!]
One-Year Certificate and Two-Year Degree Programs
- Advanced Manufacturing Precision Machining
- Computer Assisted Drafting
- Electronic Equipment Technology
- Test B Electronic Equipment Technology (Raytheon)
- Engineering Science (A2B link only)
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Technology
University of Massachusetts – Amherst
[The largest of the UMass campuses. This place has a little bit of EVERYTHING!!]
Four-Year Degree Programs
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil & Environmental Engineering
- Electrical & Computer Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
University of Massachusetts – Boston
Four-Year Degree Programs
- Computer Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Engineering Physics
- Physics
(A2B): MA Associate 2 Bachelor – These programs are specifically mapped out for students to earn an Associate (two year) degree at Northern Essex Community College (Haverhill, MA) and then transfer to a state college or university to complete a Bachelor (four year) degree. Counselors at NECC can assist with planning out the appropriate sequence of courses and transfer of credits.
University of Massachusetts – Lowell
[This closest of the UMass campuses and only a 25 minute drive from Haverhill HS!!]
Four-Year Degree Programs
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Nanotechnology Engineering Option
- Nuclear Engineering Option
- Civil & Environmental Engineering
- Electrical & Computer Engineering
- Electrical Engineering and Physics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Plastics Engineering
University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth
Four-Year Degree Programs
- Bioengineering
- Biomedical Concentration
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Cybersecurity Concentration
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Manufacturing Concentration
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Four-Year Degree Programs
- Energy Systems Engineering
- Facilities Engineering
- Marine Engineering
Four-Year Degree Programs
- Photonics and Optical Engineering
- Physics