Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

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Table of Contents

Tours

  1. Campus Highlights Tour

    Stops

    1. Residence Halls

      The residence halls at IMSA are students’ home away from home as all students are required to live on campus. There are 3 female residence halls, 3 male residence halls, and one co-ed residence hall (separated by male and female wings). While at IMSA, all students share a room with a roommate either chosen by the student, or matched by the residence life staff based on personality and lifestyle preferences. 

      Each hall has 4 live-in adult staff members called Resident Counselors, who monitor the safety of the building, provide emotional support for students, and plan educational programming.

    2. Admissions Office

      The office of Admissions works to recruit students from across the state of Illinois. Throughout the year hosts campus visits, tours, school visits, and other events throughout the state. Admissions counselors are available during regular business hours to answer questions and provide more information about the IMSA experience.

    3. Student Life & Attendance Office

      The Student Affairs office is used as first line contact for students and parents to get answers to questions or get help. Area overseen in the office include: Athletics, Attendance, Campus Activities, Student Discipline, Food Service, Health Care, Laundry Service, Leadership Education, Residence Life, Service Learning, School Counseling and Vending Service.
       
      The Attendance Office is centrally located in the Student Affairs office and is under the supervision of the Associate Director of Student Affairs. This office will be open every morning, Monday through Friday, on school days when the Academy is open, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for students and parents requesting attendance information or needing a tardy pass.
       

      During the academic school day, students are required to check in at the Attendance Office any time they are missing a class. If students are signing out to leave campus, their parent, guardian, or designated adult will have to check in here with the attendance clerk.

    4. College & Academic Counseling

      The College and Academic Counselors (CACs) collaborate in the development and delivery of college application materials, financial aid, college admission testing, as well as all course selection and scheduling processes, academic counseling and intervention programs. CACs also serve on a support team with other academic, residential, and student life members. College planning at IMSA consists of individual meetings with students and researching tools.

      The Registrar is the IMSA’s official record keeper and maintains both current and archived student records in accordance with the Illinois Administrative Code provided by the Illinois State Board of Education School policies. The Registrar also provides official/unofficial transcripts and approves various documents including Driver Education Forms and Good Student Insurance Forms.

    5. Typical Classroom

      Classrooms at IMSA are designed to foster collaboration, problem solving and promote an immersive learning environment. In most classrooms at IMSA, desks are replaced with tables to allow for student movement and teamwork.

    6. Library (IRC)

      The Library and Information Resource Center supports IMSA's teaching and learning programs and student creativity through its collections, services, and team of information professionals.
      • Over 50,000 books, videos, CDs, + 100 print magazines and journals + over 10,000 e-books
      • Scholarly, reference, and news articles from the IRC's research databases, including e-books and e-journals
      • Information and research assistance for our digital and print resources
      • International network for borrowing books and obtaining articles
      • Wireless classroom for teaching research skills and for use by faculty and students
      • Multimedia lab with video editing, image editing, and desktop publishing software + scanners
      • IMSA Archives, a special collection of materials on IMSA's history
      • Interlibrary Loan Services -  Students can request from colleges and university libraries across the state. IMSA is one of the only high schools able to participate in this program.

    7. Cafeteria & Titan Lounge

      Students use their student ID to get meals in the cafeteria, which serves three hot meals a day (except on weekends when brunch and dinner are served). Once a student’s ID is swiped, they can go back for as many servings as they would like. Vegetarian options are served at every meal, and the cafeteria staff can help students with dietary restrictions or food allergies make sure they have healthy food options in their new home away from home.

      The Titan Cafe is located directly outside of the cafeteria. This area hosts IMSA’s “Grab and Go” meal service where students can order a bagged breakfast or lunch ahead of time if they don’t have enough time to go through the cafeteria line. The Titan Cafe also hosts a self-serve coffee machine for students and staff to get a little extra energy on those early mornings.

    8. A Wing Science Labs

      The science labs were newly renovated in 2016 and offer students the opportunity to engage in hands on, problem based learning using advanced laboratory techniques. This area features four science labs for the four science classes sophomores are required to take (Methods of Scientific Inquiry, Chemistry, Biology, and Physics). The science lab area is designed to promote collaboration among students including the removable “garage” doors to allow interdisciplinary learning between lab subjects.

    9. Auditorium

      The auditorium is our largest classroom and central assembly space where the IMSA experience comes alive with academic programming, cultural celebrations, curricular and creative activities such as drama and music.

    10. Gym

      The Main Gym hosts a number of IMSA’s IHSA athletic competitions. IMSA participates in over 15 IHSA sports and co-curricular activities. Students also use the gym during the Wellness classes offered at IMSA. Instead of traditional PE classes, IMSA’s Wellness curriculum focuses on helping students live a healthier lifestyle by exploring topics relating to physical activity, healthy eating, and stress management.
       

    11. Fitness Center

      Students can often be seen in the Fitness Center during their Wellness classes, but they can also use any of the exercise equipment between classes or after school. The Fitness Center features a full array of free weights, weight machines, and cardio equipment. During the day, this  space is monitored by a certified fitness instructor and in the evenings it is monitored by other trained adults to ensure students are using the equipment safely during their workouts.

    12. Steve & Jamie Chen Center for Innovation & Inquiry

      The Steve and Jamie Chen Center for Innovation and Inquiry is a leading center for innovative and entrepreneurial thinking and applied STEM learning for youth and adult development.

      The Center provides award-winning programs, experiences, and mentoring for student and adult projects in applied STEM fields. Programs are offered in the areas of design thinking, business and entrepreneurship, maker and makerspace design, STEM pathways, film studies, robotics, and software engineering amongst others.

      Connect to the IMSA Innovation Community today, and join a vibrant network of innovators, designers, and entrepreneurs who are sharing ideas, testing inventions, taking risks, launching businesses and along the way are turning their ideas into impact.