Amherst Regional High School: Celebrating 20 Years of TEAMS Participation

Now, as she looks to retire from teaching, and from TEAMS, JETS takes a look back on those twenty years, on her service to the TEAMS program, and on the continued participation of a dedicated school with ample supply of talented students.

The Early Years

Amherst Regional High School formed its first JETS TEAMS team during the 1988/1989 school year, a result of "a bulletin that came across my desk and caught my eye," Val says. "There were three exceptional students that year in one of my advanced level biology classes who were in need for a challenge," Val says, "and having spent the first 21 years of my life in Ohio, I knew about JETS!" Val's own positive experience participating in JETS programs when she was a high school student prompted her to "take the plunge," she says. "It seems like a perfect way to challenge my students, so we formed that very first team of 6 students: 4 boys, 2 girls."

During the first couple years that Amherst Regional High School participated, the format of the competition was slightly different, consisting of six individualized academic exams. Val says that while it was thrilling to have some of her students individually selected to represent the state in the national competition, "in my opinion, the 1991 competition refinements cemented the essence of JETS by instituting the group competition format, emphasizing working in an open book, open discussion atmosphere." She said, for the first time this "allowed students who had worked together to also compete together in a true team environment."

The Evolution of TEAMS at ARHS

Other important modifications implemented during the next few years "opened the competition to more and more students by allowing JV teams to compete nationally, and lifting the restrictions on the number of teams that schools could form," Val says. Starting with just a 6 member Varsity team in 1988/89, Amherst added a backup team that evolved into a JV team the next year. "We kept adding teams as interest grew and by 1997 we were running 3 Varsity and 2 JV teams every year. We expanded to 6 teams in 2006, and this year so many students were interested, we expanded again to 7 teams. It's very gratifying as we celebrate 20 years of continuous participation in the TEAMS competition."

An Opportunity for Everyone

What started as a program implemented at ARHS for three specific students in need of a challenge has grown to a school-wide event that included over 50 students in 2008. "During those first years our most academically gifted students were attracted to TEAMS, but what opened up the competition was the change to engineering based practical problems." The real-world aspect of the TEAMS challenge scenarios "broadened the outreach of the program and our participation here in Amherst," Val says. The universal appeal of TEAMS has made finding students who want to participate easier each year. "In the beginning I relied on students in my classes to participate," she explains, "but as the program got larger, we asked science and math teachers as well as guidance counselors to submit lists of students who might be interested and they received invitations to participate. We still do that to some extent, but most students now have heard about JETS and seek us out."

Over the past 20 years Amherst Regional High School has had over 700 students involved in TEAMS, a statistic few high schools can rival.

Ingenuity and Adventure… On Paper and in Real Life

When asked to recall the most memorable TEAMS competition, Val says that two come to mind. Of course, racking up trophies and awards, as ARHS does nearly every year in TEAMS, is memorable, but it's the out of the ordinary experiences that really leave their mark. "When ARHS was the Massachusetts State Team in 1991, we had to transport the student to U.Mass, Lowell, about two hours away," Val recalls. "The Principal, pleased with the team's success, funded the renting of a 16 person mini bus, which worked out well since I had a student teacher that year who was a bus driver in his spare time. Unfortunately, when we went to pick up the 'bus,' the rental place would not approve him to drive because he was not yet 25 years old, leaving me to drive the kids. Quite a harrowing experience as it took all of us to navigate the city traffic," Val laughs. More recently, as a remote site two years ago, Val recalls, "we arrived at the high school to start the competition and found there was no power. The kids called on their ingenuity and creativity and totally rearranged the library space to utilize the natural light from the windows and had completed Part I by the time help arrived to get the power back on. It was just one more example of students working as a team to solve a practical problem."

Why TEAMS? …And Why For So Long?

"TEAMS provides a really unusual opportunity that bonds students together as a team by challenging the sum of their combined knowledge and resources to solve real world problems," Val says, "not to mention the added benefits of competing against other schools and having fun." One of the best parts is, because it involves teamwork, everyone can participate; it's not just for one particular type of student, with one particular talent or interest. "Although student demographics vary year to year, it is notable that our 2 top Varsity teams last year were comprised of 4 females and 4 males each," Val says. "As I tell the new recruits each year, if you are interested in exploring the world of engineering as a possible future career or just want to challenge yourself with an interesting morning of problem solving, JETS is for you."

Val admits coordinating a competition like TEAMS has become "more work as more students have expressed interest, and since ARHS became a remote site four or five years ago. However, the actual competition is always a great day that demonstrates what an educational environment can be- the motivation, intellect, and curiosity of many students organized by their own pursuit of solutions to problems." Val continues, "Every year I am inspired by how engaged and energized the students are as they pour over the problems and meld as a team."

Editor's Note:

Over the 20 years that Amherst Regional High School has participated in TEAMS, they have ranked in the Top Ten in their division in the national competition 18 times, most recently placing 2nd last year.