Later in the 1989-1990 school year, membership in the Center was extended to all 42 schools and 28,000 students in the St. Tammany Parish School System in Louisiana. The ESD provides teachers and students from schools across the country and around the world with the wonderful opportunity to participate in cooperative student research teams, interschool research projects, the exchange of scientific data, and the sending of research abstracts to the NSRC at Mandeville Middle School for publication in its scientific journal of student research, which now has a worldwide circulation. It provides students with search and retrieval opportunities. Students can supplement their reviews of the literature by browsing the database for research related to theirs. Students can use the database as a vehicle for choosing their research topics.
Students can also submit their abstracts for inclusion in the database.
The NSRC strongly believes that student research is a national resource which is largely ignored as we attempt to solve the many scientific, technological, social, economic, environmental, and health problems which face our nation today. As the database of student research continues to grow, it will become a significant body of knowledge at the disposal of our nation's leaders. The journal is published quarterly and is refereed by a panel of teachers and educators. The electronic journal and databases are housed in the NSRC's electronic libraries and can be downloaded by schools around the country and the world. Due to the national and international coverage of these articles, media events, and additional advertisements in nationally circulated publications, over one thousand schools from across the country have requested Student Research Center program development materials.