Academy students are required to earn 14.0 credits over two years. Once completed the student will earn 0.5 credit of local credit for Explorations. Students are encouraged to earn at least two credits by job shadowing someone in a career of interest. Explorations focus on developing self-reliance, responsibility, a greater understanding of the importance of science, mathematics, and technology in our world, and on the many career opportunities that abound with a foundation in STEM.

Students will find exploration opportunities posted on the Academy bulletin board, Academy calendar and in the Academy newsletter. Lectures are held in the evenings and tours are done after school. Tours do require students to return a completed parent permission form in order to sign up for the tour. Some tours limit the number of students that may attend.

Students may earn exploration credits in a variety of ways.

• Academy sponsored explorations such as lectures, field trips, AST volunteer opportunities.

• Academy approved explorations such as lectures on the college or university campus, visits to colleges and universities, visits to science museums, national and international sites are all also pre approved.

• Independent explorations: If the student plans to visit a city or country and has done research to find places or events that are related to science, mathematics or technology, the student may apply to have the exploration approved.

For any exploration the student must write in the Exploration Journal, type a 2-4 page report that includes additional research and cited using APA Style, and documentation of the experience in the form of pictures, tickets, brochures, etc.

The internship program involves pairing an Academy student with a mentor scientist, technician, engineer, medical or health practitioner, or other professional. The internship can be local, in another city, state, or country. The goal is to provide the student with real-world experience in an area of his or her own professional interest. The internship may be a paid or unpaid position, depending on the site.

The internship is designed as a one-half credit course (local) and is required for graduation from the Academy. Student expectations are high and the prospective mentor may look forward to working with a student who is hard-working, enthusiastic, cooperative, punctual, and dependable- a productive learner in the role of student apprentice.

An Academy student who has completed 14.0 exploration credits is eligible to do an internship. The experience is designed for students between the junior and senior year since they have taken the necessary coursework to be a viable worker, have the maturity to handle the work force, and are able to get to the work site. Students seeking internship prior to that time must do self-placement if they have met the exploration credit requirement.

Prior to becoming eligible for an internship, an AST student has completed 14 exploration credits. Exploration credits allow students to explore things they might be interested in studying after high school, such as biology (through trips to the natural science museum, zoo, hospitals), engineering (through trips to engineering firms, robotics competitions, etc), computer science (through online programming experiences, app development opportunities, etc).

Students may seek out their own internship opportunity after researching your company/organization. You may have applicants for internships from students who are friends with your former interns, or these students may be placed by EFTA through their summer internship program.

We encourage flexible scheduling to accommodate the needs of both the intern and mentor. For example, during the school year, the intern might work 2.5 hours per day twice a week for 16 weeks or 2.0 hours per day three times a week for 14 weeks. During the summer, the student might work 16 hours per week for five weeks, or 40 hours per week for two weeks.

We suggest that the mentor interview the prospective intern as if considering hiring him/her. An intern should meet expectations in terms of preparation and enthusiasm. More than one intern candidate may be interviewed before a decision is made.

The mentor should give the intern one or more specific assignments. Goals for the internship should be negotiated and set.

We ask that the mentor conduct an initial evaluation of the intern after approximately 20 hours of work and a final evaluation at the end of the internship period. Forms for this purpose are provided by the student.

All 9th grade students will participate in Science Fair as a part of their Special Topics in Science required course their 9th grade year. Students can join other R&P areas as a freshmen but are strongly encouraged to only participate in one outside R&P.

Students must complete a new Research and Problems Contract each year. A grade and one half (.5) credit of Research and Problems (R&P) I, II, or III will be earned each year that a student successfully completes the required Academy major project in grades 10-12. For projects, students may solve design problems, do an individual experimental research project, a group experimental research project, or participate in approved competitions. Transcript credit will be awarded upon completion of the course requirements.