Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, or IMSA, is a three-year residential public high school located in Aurora, Illinois, with an enrollment of approximately 640 students. Enrollment is only offered to rising sophomores, who must undergo a competitive admissions process involving grades, recommendations, essays, and the SAT. Historically, nearly one-in-three to one-in-five applicants a year are admitted. Due to its nature as a public institution, there are no charges related to tuition or room and board, with only a small annual activities fee which may be reduced or waived based on income.

History
Nobel laureate Leon Lederman, director emeritus of nearby Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, was among the first to propose the school in 1982, and together with Governor Jim Thompson led the effort for its creation. (Thompson has noted with pride that he chose to build IMSA instead of competing for the ill-fated supercollider project.) The school was established by the Illinois General Assembly in 1985, and first opened to students in 1986. The Academy is housed in a building originally constructed in 1978 as the north campus of West Aurora High School, with seven outlying dormitories built after IMSA took over the campus. IMSA's first class graduated in 1989, with the commencement speech delivered by Lederman. IMSA is one of the few high schools to possess a .edu second-level domain.

The founding president of the school is former Batavia Superintendent Stephanie Pace Marshall, winner of the Lincoln Laureate Award, who was involved with the project from the start and helped write IMSA's original legislation. Marshall retired from the position on June 30, 2007, and was named President Emerita by the Board of Trustees. She will still have an office on campus and will continue to position IMSA on the national and international stages. Marshall serves on the board of several non-profit and for-profit institutions, including nearby Tellabs. The current principal, the day-to-day operator of the school, is Eric McLaren, who began his IMSA career as a Resident Counselor and has filled many administrative roles during his tenure.

Although the school received a budget cut in FY 2002, its budget has increased recently, largely due to the support of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and House Minority Leader Tom Cross.

Admission
Prospective students, who are usually freshmen in high school but in some cases can be students in eighth grade, must fill out an extensive application to gain admission to IMSA. This application can now be completed online and can be found here.

The applications consists of an official transcript from the student's last 2 1/2 years of school, scores on the SAT I, several long and short essays totaling roughly four to five pages, three teacher recommendations in science, mathematics, and English, and a list of awards and extra-curricular activities. Since it draws students from across the state, it is sometimes considered a magnet school. Though IMSA does not disclose the numbers, there are generally around 1000 applicants for 240 places. The average score on the SAT for incoming sophomores (which is taken while the students are freshmen) on the 'old' SAT is usually between 1100 and 1300. This compares to an exiting average score of around 1400.

In order to draw greater numbers of applications and "transform teaching and learning," IMSA has an extensive outreach network run by The Center@IMSA. Some students who are invited to attend IMSA are admitted on the condition that they successfully complete a three-week, intensive preparation course (EXCEL) over the summer. IMSA has a fairly low retention rate; incoming sophomore classes number roughly 240, but graduating classes are only about 200. The reasons for this may include the difficulty of the IMSA curriculum, home-sickness, or disciplinary expulsion, as well as the fact that no transfer students are admitted to replenish the ranks of departed students.

Academics
Students at IMSA take rigorous college preparatory courses, with all classes being taught at the honors level, though IMSA philosophically spurns the Advanced Placement curriculum. Each student must fulfill a set of specific credits in order to graduate. This set of credits is broken down by academic subject. Each semester-long class counts for 0.5 credits, unless it meets with greater-than-normal frequency.

In addition to the academic program, IMSA also offers nearly 50 clubs ranging from political groups and religious clubs to volunteer organizations.

IMSA bills itself as an "educational laboratory", and as such is frequently trying out new and experimental pedagogical techniques. These range from how classes are laid out to what is taught and even to who takes them; in the early 1990s IMSA received national attention for an exploratory study on whether girls learned physics better in single-sex or co-ed environments, as conducted by charter physics faculty, Dr. David Workman. IMSA's main math sequence, entitled "Mathematical Investigations" and in development by IMSA faculty since 1991, was published in handbook form in 2005 and is beginning to be adopted by other school districts in the state of Illinois, such as Community Unit School District 303 in St. Charles (at St. Charles East & St. Charles North). IMSA's core science curriculum has been through a number of ground-up restructurings. Its current implementation divided the old scientific inquiry into four classes: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Inquiry.

Length of School Day and Mods
The school day at IMSA runs between 7:30 A.M, and 4:15 P.M., however, most students do not have classes for all of the school day. Every school day is divided into 20 mods of equal length. They are 20 minutes long with a 5 minute break between mods. Therefore, 2 mod classes are 45 minutes long, 3 mod classes are 70 minutes long, 4 mod classes are 95 minutes long, and 5 mod classes are 120 minutes long. Between mods 10 and 11, there is a 35 minute break.

Frequency and length of classes
IMSA students only attend class for four days per week, with Wednesdays reserved for research and co-curricular activity. Each student has two schedules to keep track of: one for Monday/Thursday, and one for Tuesday/Friday. A given class may meet all four days, but need not meet for the same amount of time each day. Some classes meet only two days a week. The pattern for each class is usually reduced to a pair of numbers: a 3-2 class meets for 3 mods on Monday and Thursday, and only 2 on Tuesday and Friday, while a 0-4 meets only on Tuesday and Friday, for 4 mods each day. As a result, there is considerable variation as to how many classroom minutes each course has per week:

Course requirements
IMSA students have a fairly rigid set of requirements at a departmental level, but within each department (especially in math and the sciences), they have many options for meeting each requirement. The class requirements are as follows, along with the typical meetings times of courses in that department (for clarity the symmetric alternatives are omitted---e.g. "3-2" below means "either 3-2 or 2-3"):


 * Math: 3-2 for six semesters, though a small number of upperclass math electives are 3-0.
 * Science: two 4-0 classes for two (sophomore) semesters, but some classes can be tested out of, then four semesters of electives. Most electives are 4-0, but some are 5-0, and some are 3-2.
 * Foreign language: 3-2 for four semesters.
 * English: 3-3-2 for two (sophomore) semesters(new as of the 2006-2007 school year one day a week without English), then 3-0 for four semesters.
 * History and social science: 3-3-2 for two (sophomore) semesters (same as sophomore English), then 3-0 for three semesters.
 * Wellness: 3-2 for one (sophomore) semester, then 3-0 for one semester.
 * Fine arts: 2-2 or 4-0 for one semester.

There is also a two semester additional requirement that can be filled by either math or science electives. Once these requirements are complete, students are free to take electives in any area. Most students take a full six semesters of foreign language, for instance, and despite its nominal status as a "math and science academy", IMSA offers a variety of electives in English and History as well.

Other Academic Programs
Intersession

During the week before the second semester, students are required to participate in Intersession, a week during which students are given a choice among dozens of enrichment sessions and off-campus trips. Most students choose to participate in two small or one large on-campus course(s), while some travel abroad on a faculty-sponsored trip to countries including France, Spain, and Russia, and others perform a week of mentorship. Classes range from "Build Your Own Computer" to a planned trip to study Lighthouse keeping at Washington State. Alumni often teach Intersession courses and lead overseas trips along with faculty members.

Student Inquiry and Research

Most Wednesdays are "I Days" (for "inquiry") and are usually reserved for research in the SIR programs. These programs give students the opportunity to develop their own scientific research and/or to work with scientists, primarily from around the Chicago area. All IMSA students are encouraged to participate in this program, and several every year publish their research results in academic conferences and journals.

Usually, only upperclassmen in grades 11-12 participate in these programs. Sophomores go to Navigation (first semester) or other required activities (second semester) from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, where they are helped with adjusting to residential life and other affective issues; they then have the rest of the day off.

External Programs
Unlike many other secondary schools, IMSA boasts a broad array of extra-curricular and summer programs for the teachers and students of the state of Illinois. The Center @ IMSA, the branch of the academy that coordinates these programs, is composed of the Kids Institute (KI), the Problem Based Learning Network (PBLN), and Excellence 2000+ (E2k), the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS), and 21st Century Information Fluency (21CIF). KI runs several summer experiences dealing with science, math, and/or technology, including some residential programs. PBLN is largely the professional development arm of the The Center that aims to certify teachers in Problem Based Learning, a philosophy deeply rooted in many of IMSA's cirricula. They do run one summer program for middle school students called Summer Sleuths, in which students are challenged to solve a serious problem affecting the state of Illinois; to formulate a solution with the assistance of newly certified PBL teachers, the Sleuths must develop research and analytical skills as well as scientific and mathematical knowledge. E2k is an after-school enrichment program that aims to stimulate schools and students in the instruction of math and science. They also "place a special emphasis on students who are historically under-represented and under-served in math and science."

Many IMSA students help out with these external programs. Kevin Boch, '05, and Katie Linder, '04, were crucial to the development of IMSA on Wheels, a KI program that brings science demonstrations to schools and films videos for distribution across the state. The Summer Sleuths are also guided by "Watsons", IMSA students whose charge is to help develop the students research and analytical skills on a more interpersonal level.

The Center is also partly responsible for the export and implementation of IMSA cirricula in other institutions, the most notable of which is Mathematical Investigations (see above).

Residence Halls
There are seven residence halls on campus. Each hall is composed of four wings housing up to 24 students each. Three halls are all-male, three are all-female, and the seventh contains two all-male wings and two all-female wings. All rooms have their own attached bathroom and standard residence hall furniture for two students. Furniture includes a desk, wardrobe, bed frame, mattress, and desk lamps for each student. Two pairs of rooms in each wing ("quads") have connecting doors that the residents can petition to have opened. One room per wing is built to be more accessible to disabled students, with a different room layout and a larger bathroom.

Each wing also has a lounge area with a kitchenette and a television. Many wings have accumulated a variety of other living equipment, including chairs, couches, and entertainment centers.

Awards
IMSA consistently ranks at the top of the nation in standardized test scores (of roughly 200 students in the senior class, about 50 are National Merit Semifinalists), as well as in the prestigious Siemens-Westinghouse and Intel Science competitions. The class of 2005 produced six semifinalists each for Siemens and Intel. There was also one finalist for the Siemens competition, and three finalists in the Intel competition. In addition, two of the finalists in the Intel placed in the top ten; one student stood second overall, while another won sixth place. The class of 2006 continued the success, with five students being named semifinalists in both the Intel and Siemens competitions.

Six mathematics teachers have been honored with the Edyth May Sliffe Award: Titu Andreescu (1994), Ronald Vavrinek (1995), Micah Fogel (2001), Steven Condie (2002), Michael Keyton (2003), and Don Porzio (2004). Asteroid 21441 Stevencondie is named after Dr. Condie.

Study Hours and Work Service
Study hours are a two-hour block set aside from 7 pm to 9 pm on Monday through Thursday for all sophomores. Study hours are almost always waived for the second semester of sophomore year.

In addition, as a graduation requirement, each student at IMSA is expected to complete a mandatory amount of academically unrelated service work for the school (3 hours a week for juniors and seniors and 1 hour a week for sophomores). Like the federally-funded college work-study program, a variety of jobs are available, both skilled and unskilled. The program serves two purposes: to expose the residential students to work experience and to assist the school's state-controlled budget by providing free laborers.

"Programming" or Residential Education
To encourage responsibility among students, the school provides monthly educational sessions about ethical issues. The sessions, also known as "programming", vary in topics, ranging from such issues as drugs and sex to ethical leadership. These once mandatory sessions typically last for about two hours, and may involve discussions within each wing as facilitated by a residential counselor, or presentations in the auditorium. In Academic Year 2007, the Residential Life department discontinued Programming due to lack of interest and participation.

Notable alumni

 * Dominic Armato '93, voice actor
 * Steve Chen '96, co-founder of YouTube (non-graduate)
 * Dan Frakes '89, technology author
 * Rob McCool '91, author of NCSA HTTPd web server and early Netscape employee
 * Ramez Naam '90, software developer, author
 * Yu Pan '95, first employee of YouTube and one of first employees of PayPal
 * Sam Yagan '95, co-founder of SparkNotes and TheSpark.com
 * B. Scott Gaudi '91, co-developer of Gravitational Microlensing as a method of discovering extrasolar planets
 * Tay Zonday '00 YouTube Celebrity ("Chocolate Rain") (non-graduate)
 * Micah Kanters '07 Mazda "Zoom-Zoom" Commercial Celebrity (non-graduate)

Trivia

 * Current principal Eric McLaren grew up in Aurora, and attended high school in what is today IMSA's main academic building. In addition McLaren has served a myriad of positions at the Academy, from RC to Principal.


 * On several occasions, in 1986, 1987, and 1990, dorm construction delays forced the Academy to set aside temporary housing in the main academic building for the first several months of the school year.


 * Students who applied and were accepted while in eighth grade—thus skipping their freshman year—have been nicknamed "shmen" since the early days of the school. However, in 1988-89, the nickname originated as reference to the entire sophomore class. Because the Academy began with admission of only the class of 1989, adding only the class of 1990 the following year, those two groups identified themselves as "seniors" and "juniors" for their entire three-year stay. When the class of 1991 arrived, they were the Academy's first underclassmen, and were obligingly called "shmen".  (These identities were so strongly perceived that, at 1991's graduation ceremony, each speech consistently referred to the class of 1991 as "the sophomores".)


 * The school mascot, "Titans", was chosen during the school's first year. A poll was taken among the students, who selected "Rebels" as their first choice and "Eagles" as their second; "Bulldogs" was also favored, but "Lasers" was universally scorned.  The Academy staff, citing concerns of gang-related associations, rejected "Rebels" and selected "Titans" instead-- despite "Titans" having received only 22% of the student vote.


 * IMSA has a long tradition of using acronyms whenever possible. The IMSA library is known as the "IRC", the A/V department is "ITL/TVPL", math courses are either "MI", "BC", or "AB". In 1988, the school newspaper was named "The Acronym" as a deliberate comment on this phenomenon; the name was itself a backronym ("The Academy's Choice Reading: One Newspaper for You and Me"). This expanded name was dropped in 1992.


 * On Newsweek's annual list of "Best High Schools in America", IMSA is consistently set aside with approximately 20 other schools as the "Public Elite", due to the far beyond average exiting SAT and ACT scores. IMSA consistently shares the list with just two other Illinois schools: University Laboratory High School in Urbana, IL, and Northside College Preparatory High School in Chicago, IL.