- Maine School of Science and Mathematics
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Maine School of Science and Mathematics 
Address 95 High Street
Limestone, Maine, USAInformation School type Magnet School Established 1995 Authority State of Maine Director Luke Shorty Enrollment 112 Mascot Penguin National ranking 14th(Math and Science) Website www.mssm.org The Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) is a residential magnet high school in Limestone, Maine.
MSSM serves students from all over the State of Maine, as well as youth from other states and international students. It is a high school for students in grades 9-12, and its summer program is for boys and girls from grades 5-9. The MSSM is a boarding school with a dormitory for up to 140 students.
Chartered and funded by the Maine State Legislature, MSSM opened with a pioneer class in 1995. At that time, it was only the eleventh statewide residential magnet school specializing in mathematics and science education in the United States and the only school of its kind in New England. Both remain true today.
MSSM graduates attend leading colleges around the country. In 2011, U.S. News & World Report ranked MSSM #56 on its list of "America's Best High Schools," a ranking of public high schools in the United States. The school is a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology (NCSSSMST).
Contents
Admissions
MSSM students are admitted on the basis of an application, including an essay; the SAT, SSAT or PSAT; teacher recommendations; and transcript analysis.
MSSM is a public school, so tuition is free for residents of Maine; however, families are required to pay an annual fee of at least $500 for room and board and associated costs such as dorm supervision and weekend activities. In 2010-11, the maximum R&B fee of $7,900 was paid by approximately 60% of student families. Depending on their family income, the other families paid as little as $500 for room and board. The fee for students from outside Maine was $38,750 for 2010–11, which includes tuition as well as the R&B fee.
The incoming group of students in 2010 came from the following Maine counties: Androscoggin (6%), Aroostook (11%), Cumberland (20%), Franklin (3%), Hancock (6%), Kennebec (3%), Knox (6%), Oxford (3%), Penobscot (9%), Sagadahoc (6%), Washington (3%), and York (18%). In the incoming 2010 class , there were no new students from Lincoln, Piscataquis, Somerset or Waldo Counties. International students were six percent.
The annual deadlines for admissions are December 15, February 15 and April 15. After April 15, applications are accepted if spaces are still available.
Courses
The link for the Fall 2011 course schedule is at the bottom of this entry. (external links)
MSSM has four departments: Mathematics; Science; Humanities; and Computer Science and Information Technologies. Each contains its own faculty, both full-time and adjunct, with some teachers crossing over departmental boundaries. The faculty is drawn from within Maine as well as across the country.
Courses at MSSM focus on math and science, but the school offers a broad range of college-level humanities courses. A number of courses are also designated as Advanced Placement. Foreign language courses include Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. Courses are scheduled in the evening in addition to the standard school day. There are no Saturday classes.
Math courses at MSSM include Advanced Math, Before Calculus, Calculus, Linear Algebra, Statistics, Differential Equations, and Real Analysis. Starting in the 2010-11 school year, all applicants had to place into Advanced Math as Intermediate Algebra was no longer offered.
Science courses include Physics, Chemistry, and Biology — all of which have honors and advanced placement levels, with the exception of Biology, which only has two levels: Introductory and AP — as well as Astronomy, Anatomy & Physiology, Genetics, Environmental Science, and AP Psychology.
Computer Science courses include Introduction to Programming and Algorithms and Data Structures. Other computer science courses such as Programming Languages, Web Design and Implementation, Directed Studies, etc. are being offered. Computer Science Seminar students, researching in Computers and Human Interaction (CHI), coauthoring with their instructor, have presented refereed papers to professional, International conferences in New York City, NY, Washington, D.C., Barcelona, Spain, Honolulu, HI, Quebec City, Canada, Las Vegas, Nevada San Diego, CA and Penang, Malaysia. Over a seven year period, twelve conference papers have been successfully submitted and presented. These have included thirty-eight student co-authorships.
College-level Humanities courses vary from year to year, but there is an English focus in preparation for college. History courses are standard for Maine high schools. Electives have included psychology and sociology.
A formal Fine Arts program includes musical ensemble, art history, watercolor painting and chorus. Other activities are done at the club level. The school also offers intramural sports and several interscholastic teams in partnership with other schools and programs in the area. Students also can train at the Maine Winter Sports Center, an internationally recognized center for Nordic skiing and biathlon.
The Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement are awarded each year to the male and female student in each state with the greatest number of scores of 5 on the AP math and science exams, and in 2010 both winners were from MSSM. Although not all courses at MSSM are Advanced Placement courses, students can request an AP test for any subject. In addition, some courses are cross-listed with the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
Teachers
The teaching load at MSSM is shared between both full and part-time faculty, some of whom are cross-appointed at other institutions such as the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Although not required to have a teaching certificate, most teachers have previous experience instructing at the high-school or college level. Teachers at the MSSM come from business and industry, the military, the professions, public and independent secondary education, and higher education. Many have garnered awards and recognition on the state, national, and international level.
It is not uncommon to see teachers in the dormitory on a Saturday night, and some can even be found talking to students over Google Talk.[citation needed] One math teacher, Pete Pedersen, is particularly gifted and was recognized as one of the best math teachers in the US. On field trips, many teachers help the Residential Intern staff (similar to a college Resident Assistant) by acting as chaperones and/or drivers.
Residential Magnet School
MSSM is a residential magnet school, with dormitory space for about 125 students. The dorm is co-educational by hall. Facilities include pool, gymnasium, exercise room, auditorium and sport fields. Students can use the library and other facilities at the University of Maine in Presque Isle, and they also can participate in the internationally acclaimed biathlon/Nordic ski program run by the Maine Winter Sports Center.
J-Terms
Another characteristic of MSSM which distinguishes it from many other high schools is the "J-Term", which is short for "January term." J-Term courses are requirements for graduation from MSSM — all students must complete one per year of attendance.
In J-Terms students are able to engage in several academic activities, such as internships, trips, and classes. Some typical J-Term class are Organic Chemistry, Geometric Adventures, and Epidemiology. Non-science programs are also offered, such as a Learning to Quilt, Contemporary Issues & Debate and Literature Course on Harry Potter. Locations for off-site J-terms include Bahamas, China, Costa Rica, Galapagos Islands, Ireland, Italy and Spain.
MSSM Summer Camp
Since 1999, MSSM has run a highly successful residential summer camp for grades 5-9. The camp uses all school facilities. The program is single sex, with independent week-long sessions for boys and girls. Tuition is $550/week.
Topics for summer exploration in 2010 included: A-“Mazing” Labyrinths, Astronomical Adventure Tour, Math History's Mysteries, Biological Breakdowns, Mathematical Music, Energy of the Future, Physics of Projectiles, Forensic Chemistry, Robo-Vision!, Kemistry in the Kitchen, and Video Games Made Easy.
MSSM Alumni
In recent years, MSSM has been graduating 30-40 students per year, and the total number of alumni is 752 (the graduating classes of 1996-2011). The 36 seniors in 2011 accepted $854,800 in merit-based scholarships to help pay for their four-years of college.
The combined graduating classes of 2009, 2010 and 2011 are attending the following institutions of higher education: Allegheny College, Alfred University; Babson College (2); Bentley University; Boston University (2 alumni); Bowdoin College (3); Carnegie Mellon University (2); Case Western Reserve University; Castleton State College; Clarkson University (2); Colorado State University; Columbia College; Connecticut College (2); Creighton University; Daniel Webster College; Drexel University (2); Elizabethtown College, Harvard College, Johns Hopkins University; Lehigh University; Leslie College; Maine Maritime Academy; Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Services; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Moravian College (3); Mount Allison University (2); Mount Holyoke College; New College of Florida; Newmont University, Northeastern University (6); Oxford University; Queens College; Reed College; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (4); Rhodes College; Roberts Wesleyan College; Rochester Institute of Technology; Russell Sage College; Rutgers; St. John’s University; St. Lawrence University; SUNY Farmingdale State College; Tufts University; Tulane University; United State Military Academy at West Point; University of Central Florida; University of Maine at Augusta; University of Maine at Farmington (2); University of Maine at Orono (10); University of Massachusetts at Amherst; University of New England; University of North Carolina Wilmington; University of South Florida; University of Southern Maine (3); University of Sussex; University of Vermont (2); Wentworth Institute of Technology (3); Wesleyan University; and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (4).
An internet search in 2010 identified the types of jobs held by alumni. The diversity of their jobs shows the impact of the school on Maine children, families and communities. Some alumni serve as "ambassadors" of the State of Maine by working in other states and demonstrate the quality of MSSM education by way of their success in the national labor pool.
- Math teacher on Vinalhaven, ME
- Math Faculty at the High Mountain Institute in CO
- Production manager at Sappi, Westbrook, ME
- Software Development Engineer, Microsoft, Redmond, WA
- Executive Director, MSSM, Limestone, ME
- Stability & Control Engineer, The Boeing Company, Seattle WA
- IS Manager at Hammond Lumber Company, Maine
- Computer Programmer at Emery Waterhouse, Portland, ME
- Quality Control Technician at Siemens Healthcare in Boston, MA
- Software engineer at AccuRev in Boston, MA
- Software engineer at BAE Systems, Massachusetts
- Design engineer at GE Lighting in Ohio
- Business Process Analyst at Cambridge Trust Company
- Assistant Planner at Windham Regional Commission, Springfield, MA
- Software Development Engineer at A9.com, San Francisco, CA
- Systems Administrator at Sunshine Suites Realty Management in New York, NY
- Benefits Analyst at Intelsat, Washington, DC
- Mechanical Engineer II at Northrop Grumman Corporation, San Antonio, TX
- Data Analyst at Bank Of America, Jersey City, NJ
- English Teacher at Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
External links
Categories:- High schools in Maine
- Magnet schools in Maine
- Schools in Aroostook County, Maine
- Boarding schools in Maine
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