TEMECULA -- Students will soon be using centrifuges and interning at local firms as part of a biotechnology program expected to start next fall at Chaparral High School.
School officials hope the program will cater to students wondering how school applies to real life. They also want to encourage students to go to college and help them become good candidates for jobs in local biotech companies such as Millipore and Abbott Laboratories.
"We would hope that some of our kids could apply and have a leg up on other applicants at Abbott or a place like that," said Steve Nordeen, a recently retired Chaparral assistant principal who is coordinating the project's development as a consultant.
Last year, Nordeen said, Temecula schools Superintendent Carol Leighty asked educators to develop a partnership with Abbott, the largest private-sector employer in the city of Temecula.
The school district received a $35,000 grant to plan the program and officials expect to receive $250,000 in state funding over the next three years to implement the biotechnology academy as part of a state initiative to encourage specialized high school programs.
The program will start in fall 2009 with an introductory-level biotechnology class and will eventually include a second-year class and internship opportunities.
Science teacher Lori Augustine thinks the program will appeal to many high school students because science is so visible on television.
"Look at the popularity of 'CSI' and 'Fringe' and some of those programs that are really using math and science as story lines," she said. "Forensics is not necessarily about technology, but you have to understand DNA and proteins. It's actually really pretty fascinating, so one of our goals is to make this more real."
Chaparral educators won't focus on recruiting top-end students who will likely go on to take Advanced Placement science classes, Nordeen said.
"We're not going to turn them away, but the real focus is the middle 50 percent of the class," Nordeen said. "The kids that may not have a huge buy-in to school, we're hoping to create a relevant experience that involves community field trips (and) that involves mentors from local businesses."
Nordeen has in mind the students who wonder aloud in an algebra classroom: When am I ever going to use this in real life? The goal for these teenagers is two-fold: to make students competitive for jobs out of high school, and to encourage them to attend college.
Nordeen is petitioning to have biotech classes recognized as lab science for college admissions purposes. With a freshman science class and two years of biotechnology, students would meet the three years of science recommended for admission to University of California campuses.
Educators said students will develop lab skills such as using microscopes, understanding human genes and identifying proteins. They will use centrifuges, which use a spinning motion to separate substances, and gel electrophoresis, in which an electric current is run through a gel matrix to separate proteins or DNA.
The classes also will stress job skills important to all employers. For instance, students will be required to call in to their teacher when they are absent, according to Nordeen.
"They need to understand how important punctuality is, how important attendance is and how important the dress code is," Nordeen said.
A critical component of the program is the planned partnerships with local biotech companies such as Abbott and Millipore.
Though the details have yet to be finalized, teachers expect that students in the third year of the biotech program will be able to complete internships at local biotech companies, working five to 10 hours a week for school credit.
Patrick Schneider, vice president of research and development for Millipore's life science business unit, said two college students who interned at the company this spring were later offered positions at Millipore.
"It's pretty successful," Schneider said of the internship program. "I'd have to say we haven't done high school students, but we've never really been approached to do that. There may be some possibilities to do some internships. I'm definitely not opposed to that."
Educators also hope the companies will be able to provide used equipment to keep the program's gear current and help develop the curriculum, something the local firms also are excited about.
"This is kind of an interesting program," Schneider said, "because we can give a perspective on what's really needed in the biotech industry in terms of skills and maybe help guide the curriculum and the program to help align with what our needs are."
