Recognizing the potential of talented students, dedicated educators, and innovative leaders, NCSSSMST and Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, convened a Roundtable for NCSSSMST STEM Leaders at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina on April 28-29, 2011. The product of the Roundtable will be a blueprint for STEM research in high schools that highlights innovative research programs within Consortium schools, explores ways to extend that research into an array of collaborative settings, and hopefully generates momentum that will inform the local, state, and national leaders. This article, on what a school needs to have in place for students to do viable research, is the first of two that summarize the work of the Roundtable's Working Groups. (Contains 4 online resources.)