The Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Sciences (PGSS) is now the only remaining part of the Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence, a group of five-week summer programs for selected high-school students in the state of Pennsylvania.
Most recently, it has been directed by Biology Professor Natalie McGuier, the successor of Physics Professor Barry Luokkala. Participants are required to be Pennsylvania high school students between their junior and senior years and are required to live in the dormitories for the full five weeks of the program.
Admission is competitive and merit-based with approximately five hundred of scientifically inclined students across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania applying for seventy-two slots in the program. Around thirty-six male and thirty-six female students participate each year.
The aim of PGSS is to promote interest in science rather than to advance students' knowledge in a specific area. The curriculum includes five "core" courses in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics, and numerous electives. In addition to taking classes, students are required to participate in a lab course and a research-style team project. The emphasis is on cooperation, rather than competition, with students encouraged to collaborate with other students on academic work and interact socially.
The Residence Life staff provides a number of structured social events to foster friendship and teamwork. There is at least one event per day and is advertised on the social calendar in the dorm lobby. For many students, the social development gained from the program rivals the scientific knowledge they acquire. The students leave the program with a strong bond; most attend an organized reunion the following year after the 4th week of the program.
Discontinuation and Restoration
PGSS was discontinued in 2009 by Governor Ed Rendell who cut all funding for PGSEs from the 2009-2010 budget.[1][2]
After the program closed, a group of PGSS alumni and parent volunteers worked on what was called the most important "team project": the restoration of PGSS. This included the following milestones: organizing PGSS Campaign, Inc. as a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, locating over 95% of the 2400 alumni, and many of their parents, collecting over $900,000 in donations from these individuals, meeting with former Governor Thomas Corbett and several former Secretaries of Education, meeting with key legislative leaders in Pennsylvania, hiring a part-time Executive Director, gaining formal recognition as an Education Improvement Organization (EITC), and securing numerous corporate grants.
Since then, PGSS alumni have donated over $1,500,000 to the program with nothing personal to gain since they have already been through the program; they believe in the importance of PGSS for future students.
After several years of work by PGSS Campaign, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania awarded Carnegie Mellon University a matching $150,000 grant to operate PGSS in 2013 and 2014. This provided half of the required funds for a fifty-four-student program. To secure the funding from the state, the non-profit PGSS Campaign, Inc. had to agree to match those funds, and raised that and more to allow sixty students to attend each summer.
PGSS was ultimately restored in 2013, and PGSS 2014 followed the next summer. Although Governor Corbett put a line item in the 2014 budget, the legislature took it out in the final version. TeamPA provided the matching $150,000 grant to Carnegie Mellon for PGSS 2015, and PGSS Campaign continued to raise funds for the match. PGSS Campaign hosted PGSS 2016 through 2019 with only in-kind support from the Commonwealth due to the generosity of PGSS alumni, family and friends as well as corporate support secured by PGSS Campaign.
The PGSS Campaign is still in discussion with the state about funding and has had some funding from the state in 2021 and 2022. PGSS Campaign hopes to increase the number of students even more, closer to the earlier ninety-student program. PGSS 2022 had seventy-two students in attendance.
PGSS Campaign, Inc. also functions as a PGSS alumni association. PGSS Campaign, Inc. has arranged successful reunions in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Washington DC, Austin, Houston, Seattle, New York and more. Since the COVID pandemic, there have been several virtual reunions, and in the summer of 2022, PGSS Campaign hosted a 40th anniversary of the founding of PGSS celebration. PGSS Campaign also started a mentoring program connecting recent alumni with alumni from previous years which has operated successfully since 2013.
Core Courses
None of the teachers of the core courses are required to teach any one particular area or course. They are simply hired to teach a course in the general subject area. As a result, the core courses vary from year to year; however, it is typical for the Biology course to be in HIV/AIDSBiotechnology, the Chemistry course to be in Organic Chemistry, the Mathematics Course on Discrete Mathematics and the Physics course typically covers concepts in Modern Physics, often focusing on Special Relativity. The Computer Science Course covers basic programming concepts and offers independent study for those with experience.
As it is not unusual for a student in the PGSS program to be unfamiliar with a topic, it is common for the students to help one another to stay abreast of the workload. Students can also consult teaching assistants, who are often college students or former PGSS participants, for advice. The core courses typically run fifty minutes each four days a week, with four courses each day from Monday through Friday. Students may drop one core course after two weeks, provided that they are taking at least one elective and have completed outstanding homework assignments in that course.
The core professors often return for multiple summers. Dr. Mark Farrell of Point Park University usually teaches the chemistry course and is the only faculty to have been with the program since the beginning of the program. Dr. Richard Holman of Carnegie Mellon has been teaching the physics core since the early 1990s. Dr. Ben Campbell was a student in the program in 1997 and has been a TA or faculty member every year but one since.
Lab Courses
A laboratory course is offered in every subject. Typically, one or more inter-disciplinary laboratory courses are added, such as Organic Chemistry. These usually meet twice a week for three hours following core courses. Depending on the subject area, it may be required that the laboratory course and the Team Project be taken together to better prepare students for the rigor of the team project.
Elective Courses
Students have to option of attending up to three of the ten Elective Courses offered. These smaller courses typically run for an hour twice a week after core courses. Taking more than four electives in addition to all of the core courses is not permitted without special permission from the director. Usually, several electives, including Astrophysics and Laser Technology are consistently offered every year, although content in these courses may change. Past Math Electives were taught by longtime PGSS faculty, Juan Schaffer, who was often revered by students for his mathematical genius and resemblance to Einstein until his passing in 2017.
Team Projects
All PGSS students are required to participate in a team project. The areas generally match the areas of the core courses. These team projects, each culminating in a final scientific research paper, are presented during the last week of the PGSS program known as "Team Project Week." During Team Project Week, no classes are held, due to the immense demand on the participants' time from their research paper and presentations. The final papers are compiled for the PGSS Journal.[3]
Homework and Assessment
Typically, PGSS students must complete and hand in an assignment once a week for every core course and must also hand in any homework for electives. This usually works out such that one core course assignment is due every weekday. The PGSS program strives to emulate the modern scientific community by encouraging collaboration and cooperation among students as they complete their assignments. The homework problems are often designed to require copious amounts of time and effort if one attempts to solve them without teaming up, thus encouraging a cooperative atmosphere. In addition to this, students participating in this program are not ranked among their peers, thus removing any reason for isolation solely to stand out.
While there are no grades given, all participants receive an evaluation letter based on input from teaching assistants and professors at the conclusion of the program.
Student Life
Students in the PGSS program (colloquially referred to as "Govies") participate in daily social activities, typically on the weekends and after classes. These activities can range from spending a day at Kennywood Amusement Park to indoor trivia nights. Program participants are encouraged to join in on these activities to form meaningful friendships and embody the collaborative spirit that PGSS promotes.
During the weekend before the last week of the program, PGSS students have the opportunity to meet with previous PGSS alumni for advice navigating the college application process. Additionally, participants are also encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities on the Carnegie Mellon University campus, and many decide to work and spend time together in the University Center or at Gesling Stadium.
Location
From the inception of the program until 2000 the PGSS program used the Hamerschlag House (also referred to as the 'Schlag) as the coed residence for the students with the boys housed in one wing, and the girls in the other. In 2001, the program was moved to Morewood E tower floors 4-7 (each sex having 2 floors) with the lounge in Morewood Underground. The program briefly moved back to Hamerschlag before going to Mudge House starting in 2007, with girls living in the main house and boys housed in one wing.
The 2013 and 2014 programs were housed in Donner House, with boys in the southern wing and girls in the northern wing. Beginning in 2017, the program's housing moved to Scobell House where the boys lived on the bottom two floors and the girls on the two upper floors.
As of 2023, housing has been moved back to Donner House.
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