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Parent Session

PROPEL & Level Up

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Meet the Team

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Ana Pereyra

Program Assistant

Nichole Boyette

Content Specialist

Alyson Leydig

Content Specialist

Devin Simmons

Program Coordinator

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What are the PROPEL and Level Up Programs?

Launched in 2017, Loudoun County Public Schools offers experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) designed to provide academic support for high-achieving, underrepresented students. The programs give students additional time to develop the critical skills needed to close the “opportunity gap.”

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Goals

Developing high-level reasoning skills in students.
Providing students with opportunities to enhance behaviors associated with high achievement and demonstration of the 5C’s (collaborator, communicator, contributor, creator, critical thinker)
Assisting students with planning and preparing for academically rigorous coursework in middle and high school and for entry into competitive academic programs.
Providing opportunities for parents to share as educational partners.

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Methodology

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Students are immersed in high interest, hands on, real-world STEM projects that allow them to:

Solve problems
Collaborate in groups
Improve communication skills
Expand their knowledge base
Experience success on challenging projects
Be exposed to STEM careers and STEM professionals
See themselves as belonging to the STEM community, by creating a STEM culture

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Our Programs

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Video

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PROPEL

PROPEL (Providing Rich Opportunities Plus Enrichment Learning) focuses on 4th and 5th grade students in Title I or Title I eligible elementary schools, as well as schools that fall within the feeder pattern of the Level Up middle schools.

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PROPEL

Grades 4 - 5

10 elementary schools
4th and 5th grades
After-school programs
6 Title I schools
4 Title I eligible schools
3 days/wk., 2 ¼ hrs./day,
Two 9-week sessions

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Forest Grove Frederick Douglass Guilford Leesburg Lucketts	Meadowland Potowmack Rolling Ridge Sugarland Sully

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Level Up

Level Up for middle school students was added in 2018 for 6th graders and has now expanded to 8th graders. Schools participating in the Level Up program are Title I, Title I eligible, or a feeder school to one of the elementary PROPEL schools.

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Level Up

Grades 6 - 8

5 middle schools
6th, 7th, 8th grades
*2 in-school programs (Resource block)*

Every other day 45 min (Resource block)

3 After-school programs
2 days/wk., 1.5 hrs./day
Two 9-week sessions (after school)

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Harper Park J.L. Simpson Seneca Ridge*	Sterling Middle* Smarts Mill

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Exciting

Events

December 9th - Hour of Code Event at the Academies of Loudoun

Join for fun & a parent session on student pathways

December 15th-18th - Showcases
April 18th - Innovation Day at the Academies of Loudoun
Summer Camps - Level Up (June 29th - July 2nd) & PROPEL (July 6th-17th)

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Unlocking Opportunities

& Pathways

PLU unlocks and prepares students for future opportunities in:

Honors courses - Middle school science
AP - Advanced Placement courses
IB - International Baccalaureate
DE - Dual Enrollment courses
ACL - Academies of Loudoun
CompSci - Computer science courses
HamSci - Health and medical sciences
ISR - Independent science research
GIS - Geospatial sciences
Access Academy - Accelerated College and Employability Skills (ACCESS) Academy with GMU

LCPS Course Planner

LCPS Program of Studies Outline & Website

*Join us in the spring for our parent session going in depth on these pathways!

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High School Special Programs

Fall Outreach!

Special Programs Information Events Fall calendar:

8th grade assemblies: September 2025

LCPS Special Programs presents to 8th graders
Optional school Q&A for 8th graders during lunch

Special Programs Fairs

Thursday September 18, 2025

6:00pm - 8:00pm
Heritage High School (Leesburg)

Thursday September 25, 2025

6:00pm - 8:00pm
Park View High School (Sterling)

Open to all ages of students and families
Includes a panel of current students from each program
Break-out sessions for each Special Program

More information on Special Programs in High School:

https://www.lcps.org/o/dtl/page/special-programs

Future outreach events with PROPEL/Level UP! Stay tuned!

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Eligibility for PROPEL and Level Up

Students must score within the 75th-90th percentile in any area of the CogAT or within the 65th-85th percentile in any area of the MAP assessment. If students meet this criteria, they are then narrowed down by other demographics.

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Special Education
Ethnicity (Black, Hispanic, Two or More)
Gender (Female)

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How Does A Child Get into the Program?

PROPEL: 30 students (15 - 4th graders and 15 - 5th graders)
Level Up: 30 students (10 - 6th graders, 10 - 7th graders, 10 - 8th graders, except for resource blocks)
Selection process (set criteria)
Referrals
Waitlist

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Important Program Details

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Programming

PLU provides a carefully designed curriculum grounded in evidence-based strategies and focused on STEM.

Daily snacks & transportation
Academic support
Skills development

Social awareness
Decision making
Problem-solving skills
Critical thinking
Collaboration

STEM feedback & design loop

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Attendance

Students will only benefit from PROPEL & Level Up with consistent attendance, wholehearted commitment and effort. Therefore, they are expected to attend on a regular basis.

Students are permitted 3 unexcused absences per nine week session or 5 excused absences per session before they can be withdrawn from the program.

Please try to provide advanced notice to the PLU Lead Teacher if you know your student will be absent.

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Program Continuation

Once students are in the program they will continue in until they choose to withdraw or meet their absence quota.

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Get Involved!

We’d love your support!

Give feedback to PLU team

Yearly evaluation

Volunteer to support PLU initiatives
Attend PLU program events:

December 9th - Hour of Code Event
December 15th-18th - Showcases
April 18th - Innovation Day

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Next Steps

Registration Date: Sept. 5th - 19th

5pm opening & closing

Look out for more information
Parent Pathways sessions

Dec. 9th & in the spring

Reinforce skills at home

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STEM at Home

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Inverted Bottles

Explore the science behind moving water. Does the temperature affect flow?

Bubbles

What happens when you blow lots of bubbles? Explore the structure of bubbles.

Wind Explorations

Use air to propel your investigations of movement.

Ramps and Rollers

How does the steepness of a ramp affect the roll of a can?

Home Science

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Kitchen Chemistry

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Making Plastic from Milk

Use milk, vinegar, and heat to enact a chemical change!

No-Blender Slushies

Enact a physical change to transform any fruit juice into a slushie without a blender!

Growing Rock Candy

Hot water and time will physically change water and sugar into rock candy!

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Technological Wonders

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Stop Motion Videos

Use simple objects to develop, create, and produce an original movie.

Make Code Arcade

Want to create your own classic arcade game? A free microsoft account is all you need.

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Engineering for Fun

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Shoebox Rooms

Design a room from shoe boxes or cardboard! Glue and paper are all you need to make a variety of furniture and rooms.

Take it a step further with popsicle sticks or light strings!

Designing a Paddle Boat

For a bathtub, river, or pond, a rubber band-propelled boat is a fun activity inside or out!

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Math

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Sudoku

Use logic to deduce what unique numbers fill out each row, column, and square!

Friendly Family Competition

Nonograms

A visual puzzle where the numbers represent how many blocks are filled at a time.

Wordle

Compete with each other to see how many guesses it takes to get the day’s five-letter word!

Mini Crossword

A short crossword - compete to see who in the family can get the fastest solve time!

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Art and Critical Thought

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Nature Walk Art

Do some bird watching and return home to create your own bird, habitat, or feeder.

String Art

Explore shapes, patterns, and colors in this fun inventors activity.

Bubble Blowing Machine

Explore the engineering and the science of bubbles by making your own machine.

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Thank You!

Email

PropelLevelUp@lcps.org

Lets Talk!

Devin Simmons - Program Coordinator
Nichole Boyette - Content Specialist
Alyson Leydig - Content Specialist
Ana Pereyra - Program Assistant

devin.simmons@lcps.org

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