SOAR Early College High School's 2023 InvenTeam Earns Patent

Rachel Thibault, who leads SOAR's STEM Research program, shared the news with the Lemelson-MIT Program. Every student in her program is listed as an inventor on the patent, bringing the total number of InvenTeam students named as inventors on U.S. patents to 274. IPTechLaw, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, provided pro bono legal services for all of SOAR's InvenTeam patents.

SOAR High School, a Title I school located on the Antelope Valley College campus in Lancaster, California, sits on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert. The school prioritizes admission for "high potential, low performing," first-generation, and low-socioeconomic students. Thibault has been a leading voice within the Lemelson-MIT network on how InvenTeams can be integrated directly into the school day rather than run as an extracurricular add-on.

"My STEM Research program is still going strong, and I actually think this might be the first year where I have individual student patent applications filed," Thibault said. "It is so incredibly exciting because we have finally evolved to sustainability where the vision of InvenTeams has translated fully into the classroom. I am thrilled and eternally grateful."

The milestone reflects the long-term impact of the InvenTeam model, which pairs student inventors with mentorship and resources to develop solutions to real-world problems — impact that, in SOAR's case, has continued to compound years after the original grant cycle ended.