The opportunity to attend the Piedmont Governor’s School for Mathematics, Sciences, and Technology (PGSMST) is extended to all sophomores who have taken Advanced Algebra & Trigonometry by their second semester. The program has two sites, and Pittsylvania County and Danville high schools attend the site that is held at the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research (IALR) in Danville.

In order to be accepted into PGSMST, students must take different tests. These tests include two tests that evaluate mathematics and reading/writing skills, and these determine whether or not the student will receive DCC credits for the PGSMST program. Once the student passes these tests, a testing date is set at Chatham High School in which all prospective Piedmont Governor’s School students from all county schools attend. There is no failing this test, but only the students with the highest scores will be accepted into the program. This test also takes into account the students’ PSAT score. After a few weeks pass, students are sent letters that reveal whether or not they had been invited, put on the waiting list, in case a student that was invited decided to not attend, or didn’t score high enough to be invited into the program. After a student is invited to attend, they can decide whether or not they would like to attend.

“It’s really just a big congregation of really intelligent and nice people,” said senior Hannah Ricketts.

PGSMST is a two year program. Juniors who attend take English, a math, which is either Advanced Math Analysis (AMA) or Calculus I, a science, either chemistry or biology, Introduction to Statistics, and research as a junior. Each class is a year long, except Introduction to Statistics and junior research, which are a semester each and switch after a semester.  Seniors take English, a math, which is either Calculus I, Calculus II, or Statistics, a science, either physics or micro biology, and research. Each of these classes are year long classes.

“It’s a challenging environment, and it allows students to learn more about how college will be and to prepare themselves,” senior Hunter Nichols said. “It’s a great experience.”

For a PGSMST student at Tunstall, a bus arrives around 6:50 in the morning to pick up all PGSMST students and take them to the IALR. This bus also picks up Dan River students on the way to the IALR.  Classes begin at 7:45 and last until 9:20, where there is a 10 minute break for students to change classrooms, go downstairs to the Cyber Cafe, or do any other business they need to. Second period lasts from 9:30 until 11:00, and students get on the buses to head back to their base schools around 11:15.

“[The hardest part] is probably having to wake up early and keeping up with the work load,” senior Michelle Hyman said.

Many of the rules are similar to those at Tunstall. However, there is more freedom. “My favorite part of Gov. school is being treated more like an adult and having more freedom,” said junior Jackie Williams. “We can use the bathroom without asking, we have access to the cafe, and we have access to more technology.”

The Piedmont Governor’s School for Mathematics, Science, and Technology may seem like a lot of work, and in some ways it is. However, most PGSMST students would agree that it’s worth it in the long run. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to expand your education,” said Hyman.