Local Schools To Participate In Science Olympiad

Science Olympiad is collaborating with the Illinois Quantum Microelectronics Park, P33 and Claretian Associates to bring its program to local schools. Photo provided by Science Olympiad.
Science Olympiad is collaborating with the Illinois Quantum Microelectronics Park, P33 and Claretian Associates to bring its program to local schools. Photo provided by Science Olympiad.

Local Schools To Participate In Science Olympiad

By Tia Carol Jones

Six schools on the Southeast side of Chicago will have the opportunity to participate in the Science Olympiad in 2026. Thomas Hoyne Fine Arts Elementary School, Robert A Black Magnet Elementary School, Ninos Heroes Elementary School, James Madison Elementary School, Bowen High School and Saint Francis De Sales High School will participate in the STEM competition.

The Science Olympiad was founded 42 years ago and provides STEM pathways for students who are interested in pursuing STEM careers. Like a sports team, there are groups of students who choose events from a provided list, which includes life sciences, earth sciences, physical science and technology.

Jenny Kopach, the President and Executive Director of Science Olympiad, said there are about 7,000 teams across the country that participate in the program and 450 tournaments that take place across the country, usually on a college campus on a Saturday, throughout the school year.

“In doing the Science Olympiad, we realize that Science Olympiad isn’t going to solve the problem of inequity across the educational spectrum, but what we can do, is go in and treat every student like they have the opportunity to be amazing and provide this program where they get to actually come in and choose what they like best and take the ball and run with it,” she said.

The Science Olympiad is a competitive game with rewards at the end. Kopach said because of that structure, it helps the students develop skills they need, which include leadership, friendship, collaboration and belonging. Kopach said Science Olympiad has also been a driver to develop a STEM workforce, while also developing students’ personal skills.

Kopach said when the Science Olympiad saw the Illinois Quantum Microelectronics Park (IQMP) was being built on the Southeast side of Chicago, there was more interest in doing more work in the community.  The Science Olympiad wanted to have a presence in the schools in the community. She said that the students in the community deserve a chance to have the same opportunities that students across the country have to participate in the Science Olympiad.

The program is a collaboration with the IQMP, Science Olympiad, P33, Claretian Associates, and the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE). All six of the participating schools will have access to the resources they need to develop two teams per school. The program will be funded for at least the next three years, thanks to $60,000 each from IQMP and P33, as well as CQE’s teacher training support. Two more schools are expected to join the program. Kopach said that the Science Olympiad is a way of showing that IQMP will have a long and lasting impact on the people in the community.

“In doing Science Olympiad as an extracurricular activity, the students will have a chance to upskill in several different areas that are quantum adjacent. What we’ll be able to do is get students and families and the community really comfortable with all the things they need to think critically about quantum, but also, careers in all the different disciplines,” she said.

For more information about Science Olympiad, visit www.soinc.org.

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