Topics in the past have included line drawing, the Internet, horror in film and fiction, marine biology, termite guts and 450X, SAT math review, computer music, drama, poetry, horticulture, classroom psychology, political assassinations, murals, polymers, French films, Portuguese, and sign language. The list is shaped by student interest and by faculty and staff resourcefulness. The selection is also shaped by the goal of exposing students to people who are themselves excelling. Students typically have the opportunity for field trips to New York City and Boston, and to Trinity Repertory Theater in Providence to attend such productions as Into the Woods, Voir Dire, Amadeus, The Crucible, Our Town, and From the Mississippi Delta. They have viewed the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and have toured the Massachusetts State House and the Isabella L. Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
Questions are encourages and dialogue fostered.
Interaction with peers, faculty, staff and guests is a requirement. The Program is open to 10th, 11th and 12th graders. The high school is responsible for recruiting, screening, and selecting students. This process usually takes place in May and June prior to the Fall semester and in December and January for the Spring semester. These maybe demonstrated through standardized test results, expressed in artistic activities, displayed in personal performance, or revealed in qualitative assessment by teachers.