FRISCO, TEXAS — From areas of study in Veterinary Science to Culinary Arts, the Independent Study and Mentorship (ISM) program offers students many opportunities to research topics that pique their interest.
Offered at all Frisco ISD high schools to juniors and seniors, the course allows students to work with mentors to discover more about their potential area of study.
The program requires an application process consisting of submitting essays and teacher recommendations, an interview process, and finally meeting with counselors to confirm the course has been added to their course card.
Topics ISM teachers focus on teaching to students include skills like professionalism, networking/communication, and public speaking. Curriculum-wise, students can expect a rigorous course focusing on research and developing a product.
Ms. Penney, Centennial’s ISM teacher, had more information to share about this unique program offered across the district.
“We start in the first quarter learning soft skills like how to send emails and etiquette. As students develop soft skills, they begin reaching out to professionals for interviews, hopefully, finding a professional they can mentor with.”
Topics available for students to research change every year, with the current list covering topics like graphic design, entrepreneurship/small business, criminal law, and more.
The curriculum is designed to be open, allowing students freedom to focus on their area of study. Students start early in the year learning skills necessary to succeed in the course, eventually transitioning into researching their chosen fields of study. After that, the interview process occurs, in which students ask professionals in their area of interest a series of questions, using that information to pick a mentor they want to work with to further dive into their area of study.
“The interviews are 30 minutes, they dress professionally to meet the mentor, and they have a discussion with the mentor on the mentor’s area of expertise,” Penney said.
Once students have chosen a mentor to work with, students get the opportunity to create products relating to their field of interest, developing and tweaking the product alongside their mentors. Students and mentors have multiple opportunities to collaborate. Penney elaborated on what the collaboration process looks like.
“They [the student and mentor] meet once a week in spring, the mentor attends the ISM showcase in the third quarter, and the final presentation in the fourth quarter. The expert evaluates the work of the student.”
Students also work on a presentation throughout the school year. The project is titled, “The Original Work” and students spend many hours working on it.
“It’s a 15-hour project to learn about foundational skills or complete tasks to prepare students for the work they want to do on final projects,” Penney stated.
Many students in the program have curated creative projects and had great success through the ISM program.
“I had a student who had a mentor at Boston Children’s Hospital. She created a pamphlet on unborn babies having surgery in the womb informing parents about what it would be like and it ended up being used by the hospital,” Penney said. “ I had another student who went to a small start-up to do social media marketing and ended up building their social media for them.”
Not only is the ISM program rewarding for students, but Ms. Penney herself found interest in the program after starting her career in the district teaching middle school.
“I came to the district teaching middle school, but as soon as I knew about ISM I knew I wanted to teach it. It provides a great opportunity for students to find out what they want to do and it affords students great opportunities, and I love being part of the process.”
One of Ms. Penney’s former students, senior Ananya Ganni, thought the ISM experience summed up in one word was “unique”.
“When you first start you have an idea of what you want to do. As you learn more about your field, your interest turns into something completely new. Even if many students are doing the same thing, their perspectives are different.”
Ganni further discussed how her passion for money and helping others merged into a goal to help others.
“I started off my ISM journey wanting to go into analytical finance. My goal was money at first, but as I researched more and talked to professionals, I realized that I could provide education to people on finance and I think that teaching financial literacy is more rewarding.”
The application window opened on Dec. 20, 2024, and will close on Feb. 7, 2025. If you’re interested in applying for ISM, you can scan the QR code on the posters in the hallway for more detailed information about applying. Any questions can be directed towards Ms. Penney in AA204, or at [email protected].
