IMSA Launches Unique Phonathon To Gauge Student Well-Being

For Immediate Release, October 2004
For comment, contact Brenda Buschbacher at (630) 907-5033

(Media note: To learn more about the IMSA residential experience and programs it offers, contact brenda@imsa.edu or call 630-907-5033

AURORA—To gauge first-year students’ adjustments to campus life away from home, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) is launching its first retention phonathon.

IMSA faculty and staff are volunteering their time to call each IMSA sophomore (first-year student at the Academy) to assess their adjustment to living away from home and to the academic rigors of this unique environment. Many of these IMSA students, who are only between 13-15 years of age, also come from communities throughout the state and are leaving their family and friends for the first time.

These adjustments can include things like living with a roommate for the first time, eating cafeteria food three times a day, missing a sibling (or the family dog!) and managing a highly rigorous courseload.

IMSA Director of Enrollment Management Rob Sheinkopf said the success of IMSA sophomore students is the responsibility of every member of the IMSA community.

“We need to extend each one a helping hand so that they know every adult here cares about them and their success at IMSA,” Sheinkopf said. “These are young teenagers in unfamiliar surroundings and it’s important we help them get off to a good start.”

Although the retention phonathon is a new idea, IMSA already has in place strong initiatives to help students adjust to first-year Academy life.

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® is an internationally-recognized pioneering educational institution created by the State of Illinois to develop talent and leadership in mathematics, science and technology. IMSA's advanced residential college preparatory program enrolls 650 academically talented Illinois students in grades 10-12. Nearly 18,000 teachers and 34,000 students in Illinois and beyond have benefited from The Center@IMSA program of professional development and student enrichment. Located in Aurora in the high-tech corridor west of Chicago, IMSA® serves the people of Illinois through innovative instructional programs, public and private partnerships, policy counsel, action research, and the leadership and achievements of its graduates.