A survey was sent out to all the classroom teachers, to which 84% responded.

Here are the findings:

Frequency you assign research
(this can include smaller assignments or large projects):

The majority of teachers assign research a minimum of twice a year, even more assign it at least once.

Opportunity for improvement

* Survey respondents include teachers new to the school and those who teach classes that do not readily lend themselves to text-based research.

What Teachers Say:

"My students need access to college level databases like Gale Virtual References and Expanded Academic ASAP. We research for essays and projects, like Capstone, several times a year. These databases are the ones used by UC campuses. Without the databases, my students are hunting and pecking through ads and blogs on Google. Also, last I checked, the PVLD (public library), doesn't have anything as effective as the academic journals and full-text newspapers found on Gale or EBSCO. -- Mr. Peterman, English Department Chair "The databases are CRUCIAL for my research projects, for all my students, but specifically my Honor students. These databases are crucial for helping students to do research at the COLLEGE LEVEL as well. A school of this magnitude cannot afford to NOT have these databases. -- Mr. Cormier, History Department In dance and P.E. we do not have text books to teach from. We rely on the databases to gather resources and information to teach our classes. Also, we assign research papers and projects that require the use of the databases. It would be difficult to assign these projects without the database resources. These projects helped us to meet the CCS and the new Common Core Standards. -- Ms. Mastan, Choreo Director As an adjunct professor at Marymount California University and a member of the Loyola Marymount Alumni Board of Directors and Trustees Committee, I have seen the benefits of database usage first-hand. Palos Verdes High School takes pride in preparing our students for college. Universities actively use databases for research. Their paid database sites are quite comprehensive in comparison to ours. The list which we use is provides a solid foundation for gathering relevant source references. The skill of becoming proficient at using database sites is an essential one. In my honors English classes, I have used and continue to use these websites because the information is reliable and credible. It would be a disservice to the students of PVHS to discontinue the availability of these sites. -- Ms. Pavelka, English Department "I have my science research students use databases rather than Google or other web browsers to find journal articles and other publications that they can reference in their "background" section of their reports. Databases are important to academics as they contain vetted information from credible sources. We need to teach our students how to conduct proper research. -- Ms. Scheerle, Science Department "I have my students access the databases for every project we do in Biology 2, Biology Honors, and Marine Biology Honors. They are invaluable since it provides them with the most current information available in the various fields of science that we cover. Students use our science and advanced academic databases to look up recent research on cell organelles, agriculture, ecological issues, genetic disorders, molecular biology, diseases, forensic science and more. "PV High envisions itself as a research-based school so I am constantly directing our students to our databases for information -- especially helpful right now with Marine Biology Honors since we are conducting field research and literature-based research relating to very specific marine organisms. The databases provide a wealth of information for the students. Additionally, I use the databases from home to find current, relevant articles to increase student interest during lectures and stay up-to-date with the constantly evolving field of biology. -- Ms. Kuhn, Science Department
Each year at the UCLA workshop for high school librarians, the message is for high school librarians to teach/encourage high school students to use subscription databases: (1) to prepare for college research; (2) to learn how to use reliable sources of information that are hand-selected for input into the database and are written by experts in their field; (3) because information over the Internet (free Web) is not always reliable. (i.e. The good stuff is not free; anyone can post anything on the free Web); and (4) many teachers require their students to find scholarly journal articles. STRONG LIBRARIES MAKE STRONG STUDENTS. WE NEED STRONG RESOURCES.