HISTORY and MISSION

The focus of this case study is NCSSM Online, which is an offshoot of NCSSM, the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, a two year residential high school program.

The video to the left describes the history and mission of NCSSM, developed for students all across North Carolina. Background information such as provided in the video is helpful in understanding how NCSSM Online came to be and the unique opportunities it provides for students.

NCSSM was the collaborative brainchild of former North Carolina governors Jim Hunt and Terry Sanford, and scholar John Elie. At the time of its initial development in 1980, Terry Sanford was the residing president of Duke University. Their collective vision focused on mathematics and science instruction for students statewide. Part of the mission, as Governor Hunt stated was to “give them the best teachers, give them the experience of working in labs well into the night if they wanted to, in excellent laboratories…work with other bright students, so they could encourage and challenge each other” (Hunt, 2011). 

Such hands-on experience as Jim Hunt described is certainly not available to NCSSM Online students, but the hybrid format of the school provides those same opportunities during the residential weekends and summer programs. 

NCSSM Online was not a part of NCSSM until 1992 through the realization the school could reach even more students with quality science and math education online. NCSSM's vision also included an outreach division, DEEP, Distance Education Extended Program. Carr Thompson, Senior Program and Communications Officer of the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation at NCSSM states “The North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics serves as a hub for eight cyber-campuses. They provide multi-media technologies and conference capabilities for these schools to have access to high level teaching and learning in science, math and technology… It’s a great way for schools and teachers in low wealth areas of the state to reach out and have access” (Thompson, 2011).

With respect to the mission of NCSSM Online specifically, Jim Hunt expressed the residential portion of NCSSM’s was just part of the vision. He saw opportunities to “reach out to and impact all of the public schools in North Carolina, over two thousand of them” (Hunt, 2011). NCSSM does just this, and NCSSM Online gives juniors and seniors in the high schools the opportunity to apply for enhanced learning through the hybrid residential portion, combine with quality online courses in upper level science and mathematics.