Covington Catholic High School administrator Bob Rowe has been selected as one of 11 administrators from across the U.S. for the 2022-2023 Outstanding Project Lead The Way Administrator award.
The award recognizes outstanding educational leaders for their commitment to providing students with meaningful learning experiences through PLTW programs. PLTW is a is a nonprofit organization that delivers STEM education programs.
Rowe is being honored for his work in the PLTW engineering program. He’s been an administrator at Covington Catholic for 15 years.
“Mr. Rowe is truly an educational leader in our school and educational community. Administrators from schools across three states have reached out to him for guidance on implementing an exceptional STEM program,” said Bob Lind, director of STEM programs at Covington Catholic. “More importantly, his passion for educating our students and his genuine concern for them makes him an exceptional leader.”
As principal at Covington Catholic, Rowe has led the expansion of the school, which includes multiple additions and facility upgrades, as well as the $3 million Dr. Anthony Zembrodt STEM and Fine Arts Center, the school said in an announcement. It was Rowe’s vision to build a STEM program using the Project Lead The Way curriculum.
“We saw a demand for the skills that were needed for students to succeed in the STEM-related fields,” Rowe said. “Therefore, we knew it was essential to adopt a strong curriculum, hire an excellent staff, and construct a state-of-the-art facility to make this possible. We were blessed to receive several significant private donations and our community rallied around us to make this dream become a reality.”
Covington Catholic’s STEM program includes a Robotics program that has sent teams to the state tournament each year since its inception. In 2022, the Covington Catholic Robotics team won their first Kentucky state championship, and earned second place in the Worlds Tournament amongst 12,000 teams from 40 different countries.
“PLTW educators do incredible work facilitating learning experiences that help inspire and prepare students to reach their full potential. This award acknowledges and recognizes their accomplishments in continuing that,” said Dr. David Dimmett, PLTW interim president and CEO.
