We tour the building-in-progress, and the principal walks over to research plaques encased in glass, excitedly pointing out a satellite a group of students launched into space with help from NASA. There are labs dealing with neuroscience, astronomy, oceanography and other subjects eventually, the results are presented at symposiums and science fairs. Roughly half of Thomas Jefferson students are involved in individualized research in any given year, Glazer says, but all seniors are expected to complete a major research project before graduation. I don't think you get that at other high schools.'ĭas is planning to begin work in an energy systems research lab in the fall. 'We're a lot like a college in a lot of ways, because we have a really active alumni base that's willing to help us, that communicates with us,' says Anant Das, a rising senior spending part of the summer on campus to prepare for a stint as student council president. With its focus on student-driven research, specialized college-level coursework in subjects like computer science and bio-nanotechnology, and high proportion of faculty holding Ph.D.s, Thomas Jefferson hardly resembles a conventional high school.

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