Social science, math, and science research. These are all programs that our school currently offers to thirty students from each grade through sophomore and senior year. Each year, ten students are accepted to each of the three research programs based on a series of departmental qualifying exams and subsequent interviews and even experiments to narrow down the results. These assessments are completed during the second half of freshman year.  

     Though there are several classrooms filled with freshmen who take the initial exams, only a handful of them are selected to become a part of the research program for the next school year.

     This process of choosing students ensures that each research classroom is full of students who are passionate in their given subjects, it also leaves out many others who may have also been qualified and wish to have the same opportunities. 

     Through these classes, students learn how to critique published research articles, develop critical presentation skills, and enter competitions with research papers and projects. These competitions include the Regeneron Science Talent Search, which every senior in research participates in. 

     Meanwhile, all other students outside of the program are not offered a single course that permits them to research a topic of interest over the course of the school year and submit papers on that subject to competitions. 

     Rather, students who wish to do so outside of the research program must accomplish this independently with little or no guidance. Thus, in order to ensure that students who want to take a course that allows them to learn essential research abilities are given such an opportunity, the research program or a program like this should be expanded. 

     There should be more than three classes per grade that gives students the chance to develop advanced research skills, which are often necessary for success in college and various jobs.

      This type of system has proven to be successful in a number of nearby schools. Most notably, Jericho High School which currently has science and social science research programs that are open to students who wish to opt in. The former course is listed as one of their most popular courses the school has to offer, which highlights just how many students take the class as they understand how vital the skills it offers are. 

     In addition, Jericho High School offers an “Introduction to Research 9” course that teaches freshmen the necessary skills required for success in the research program that begins in sophomore year.

     Not only would this type of program offer more opportunities for talented students, but also may heighten the school’s prestige as more students participating in various contests could lead to more winners. 

     Thus, we at The Schreiber Times believe that our school should consider expanding our research program, which has shown a lot of success in neighboring schools like Jericho High School.