A nonprofit organization in Massachusetts is seeking to expand the teaching of biotechnology in the state’s public high school science classrooms by providing grants to pay for lab equipment, professional development, and other resources.
BioTeach, directed by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and its education foundation, provides financial assistance to high schools to help them launch biotechnology studies within existing science classes. The project was praised by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., at an appearance in Boston this month. He predicted that the initiative would help increase the state’s economic competitiveness in the biotechnology industry.
BioTeach has raised about $3.3 million so far from both corporate sponsors and public entities to support its grant efforts, said Cora Beth Abel, the vice president of the Cambridge, Mass.-based council’s education foundation. The long-term goal is to raise $9 million and offer help to all high schools in the state over the next six years.
More information on BioTeach is available at www.massbio.org
