Boulder Valley’s seven high schools offer a class for seniors interested in science. The purpose of this class is to provide an opportunity for students to pursue independent scientific research.  Some of the students will experience several months of working in a lab or science facility with science or technology mentors who provide guidance and supervision as the student pursues his/her research, while other students will choose to work in the high school laboratory closely monitored by the high school teacher.

The students have a regular high school classroom teacher, who maintains communication with the mentors of his or her students. The students prepare a research project for the District Science Fair in February and write a scientific abstract and paper, which is presented orally at the Boulder Valley Science Symposium in April.

Typically, students spend 6-10 hours/week working on their research. The amount of time that the mentors spend with the student varies depending on the nature of the project. During the initial interview, the student, mentor and classroom teacher clearly define what each person is able to contribute during the year. The classroom teacher is expected to make contact with the student weekly, to assure that the student is keeping up with the course work, and meeting the expectations defined during the initial interview.

If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to email your questions to...

JULIE ANDREW, SRS COORDINATOR, LEARNING SERVICES
Boulder Valley School District
6500 Arapahoe, Boulder, 80303
Julie.andrew@bvsd.org