The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is one of the premier United States (U.S.) school systems. It is a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C. In the 2003–2004 school year, there were 192 schools. Three new schools opened this school year. There are approximately 140,492 students in grades kindergarten through high school.

MCPS is like the United Nations. Children come from all over the world and speak more than 123 native languages. Twenty-five years ago the school system was predominately White. Today there is no majority population. Montgomery County, Maryland covers 550 square miles and is the 18th largest school system in the US.

Many families move to Montgomery County because of the excellent free public education. Needless to say, science is a most important component of the rigorous academic curriculum. MCPS, thanks to generous grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), has been able to supplement the science curriculum in all grade levels, including the Student Inquiry Project for elementary students.

A premier high school program is the Student and Teacher Internship Program, called STP. This is a partnership between the HHMI, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and MCPS. NIH is the steward of medical and behavioral research for the Nation, supporting biomedical research on their Bethesda, Maryland, campus and throughout the United States.

Approximately 22 high school students, selected from applicants from 24 high schools, spend a full year doing an internship at NIH. The program begins in the summer with a two-week course in laboratory techniques, taught by MCPS faculty and scientists from the NIH. The students spend the remaining summer in a laboratory at NIH. Selected teachers, who do an eight-week summer internship, are in the same class as students prior to entering their laboratory. Teachers culminate their internship with a presentation about their research and how to apply their experiences to the classroom. Students return to their NIH laboratories in September for half-day—typically spending mornings at school, usually taking four classes and then remainder of the day at NIH. The yearlong experience culminates at a dinner symposium where each student presents his or her own research. Typically, the audience is made up of NIH scientists, student preceptors and mentors, as well as elected officials, parents, teachers, and guests, are always amazed at what these young people have accomplished. Often student’s work is so outstanding it is published, and students are invited to present their research at conferences. NIH often features student work in their monthly publications as we ll. Also, there are frequent newspaper articles and schools newsletters that feature student’s work and highlight their accomplishments.

Recruitment to this program is done in many stages and is ongoing. In other words, it is an internal component of the program. Because the school system is so large, it is a continuous goal of the program administrators to ensure that qualified students in all high schools have an opportunity to apply. Therefore, at the beginning of each school year, presentations are made to science teachers, guidance counselors, resource teachers, and high school principals informing them of the program. Presentations also are continuously made at parent-teacher association meetings and other local events. Each high school principal can recommend up to four students from their high school to apply. All applications are reviewed once a year by a team of educators and NIH scientists.

As previously stated, the recruitment also includes presentations in each high school by current interns to other students describing their internship activities at the NIH. Each semester current student interns do a short presentation in their school, either in a science class or in the career center. Their presentation is treated like any other outside speaker and advertised in the school. Good recruitment includes assurances that those adults who work with students on a daily basis have a clear understanding of what this internship entails. Thus, they can encourage students to consider applying and also provide further information.

Previous student presentations are aired on the local MCPS television station to inform the community. Each high school resource teacher has a copy to share with students and others.

The STP web site, http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/intern/stp/ is probably the best marketing tool. It provides further detailed information. We receive continuous questions from MCPS parents and students, as well as from around the county. We also are able to help other school systems with internship programs.

Whetting young peoples appetite to the joys of science begins early in a young person’s life. The elementary program, Student Inquiry Project, begins to make science fun. The goal of the program is to provide teachers and students with hands-on inquiry based science curriculum lessons. Teachers encourage children to enjoy their experiments and model the high school program by providing opportunities for students to present their work to other, including classmates and parents.

A middle school program called Fun with DNA allows 8^th and 9^th grade students to experience a dynamic hands-on three-week summer opportunity, mentored by teachers and high school students. One activity includes DNA work, using their own saliva. This program acquaints students with the various aspects of the field of biotechnology in an effort to nurture their interest in science and is a very popular component of recruitment.

Also, on a middle and high school level, the Student Academy of Science (SAS) has been developed in many secondary schools to encourage young people to explore the joys of science. HHMI funds this after-school mentoring program also. Again, this program is to stimulate student interest in career opportunities in biomedical science through presentation by scientists, discussions of videos, and field trips to such places as the National Library of Medicine, and Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

Thus, though early exposure to science activities and encouraging students to take more science and math helps to prepare them to apply for internships.