Virginia Tech is working with other universities to bring advanced engineering classes to high schools.

Tech received a 4-million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation to pilot the program. That program will provide advanced training for STEM teachers and bring college level engineering classes to high schools.

"The big deal with this program is that we're going to finally see engineering in K-12," Ken Reid, an associate professor in Engineering Education at Tech said. "So we're finally going to be able to define what engineering is, get students taking a class, and get those students straight into an engineering plan."

Reid says high school students who take early engineering classes will be able to excel in college engineering faster than student without engineering experience.

This summer, Virginia Tech will begin training the first group of high school teachers.