VIDEO: Students Teach Science to School Committee

Students from Mr. Jason Henry’s science class at Norton High School treated the school committee to a special presentation of the school’s biotechnology program.

The program began in spring 2007 when fellow science teacher Tanya Benoit received a $10,000 BioTeach Grant. With the grant, a lot of equipment was bought, some of which Henry’s class showed off Monday when they went through the process of separating DNA. 

“Massachusetts is the haven of biotechnology,” Henry said. “We have about 1,500 biotechnology companies nationwide, and about 450 in Massachusetts alone. So this is a really great opportunity to get some of these great minds introduced into the field.”

Norton High School has also received a $6,000 grant from Life Sciences Career Development, which sends students on field trips, such as to the new crime lab in Lakeville.

As Henry's students pointed out, biotechnology is used in forensic science and studying fetus genetics.

“A lot of the kids to take the biotechnology course are definitely geared towards lifetime careers, but one opportunity it does provides is that there are a number of entry level jobs that one could obtain without a college degree,” Henry said. “So it’s a great experience to have our sophomores all have experience, hands on with this equipment and really get an opportunity to see if this is something they want to pursue as a career.”

Through a biotech workshop, Henry got in contact with someone from New England Biolab in Ipswich, and has ordered DNA from their catalog for the two courses running at Norton High School this year. For the lower level class, they use kits with simulated DNA, which are easier to read.

Since every student must take biology, every student is exposed to the equipment.

“It’s fascinating to me that there are as many students signed up to take Level 1 Biotech as there are Honors Biotech because there is that level of interest in the program,” Norton High School principal Raymond Dewar said. “Kids want to know science. Kids want the opportunity to do science, and hands on courses like this really make a difference in helping them understand science and appreciate them a lot more and see the possibilities for careers in sciences.”

“It’s neat because when you watch those shows like “Bones” or “NCIS” or some of those shows you know what they are talking about,” added School Committee member Marge Werner.

And not only do students know what’s happening in those shows, but they understand what’s going on in the classroom as well.

“I think our strong MCAS results in math and science are indicative of the ability we have to bring in technology and get the students to understand it in a hands on way rather than from a text book,” Dewar said.