Boston high schools sent lab kits for distance learning

— Photo by Zuzanna K. Filutowska

From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)

BOSTON

“Mass Insight Education and Research has partnered with manufacturer miniPCR bio to deliver 225 individual lab kits to high schools across Boston. The ‘Science from Home: Lab Kits for Distance Learning’ program is being piloted in by Advanced Placement (AP) biology classes in eight Boston high schools this fall.

“The Mass Insight program is partially supported by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) and seeks to support AP biology students with the ability to complete lab assignments from home. The labs are designed to give students a safe, grade-level appropriate lab experience, and will allow students to investigate vital biological processes with minimal equipment.

“Leslie Prudhomme, Mass Insight’s senior content director for AP Sciences and a former AP biology teacher, has spearheaded the effort to get lab kits into students’ hands. ‘The kids are our top priority,’ Ms. Prudhomme said. ‘The question wasn’t are we going to be able to help them get the quality science education they need in the fall semester, it was how are we going to get this done?’’’

Mass Insight pushes for more advanced courses

The Boston Latin School, founded in 1635 and the oldest public school in America.

From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)

"Mass Insight Education & Research has released a new report calling for expanding advanced coursework at the high school level in order to better prepare college for college and career success.  Mass Insight is a Boston-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide leadership in closing the achievement and opportunity gaps for underserved students by focusing on system transformation and student academic success.y,

The study, 'Beyond College Credit: Leveraging AP as and Effective Workforce Strategy,' was authored by Dr. Dana Ansel, and stresses the role of rigorous high school education in addressing workforce demands.  The report suggests that Advanced Placement (AP) courses should be offered to more students to better prepare them for college and eventual career success, particularly in STEM-related fields.  The study also suggests that such changes are necessary for Massachusetts to maintain its edge as a highly educated state with a highly skilled workforce.  Mass Insight notes that it is expected that by 2020, 72 percent of jobs in the Bay State will require training beyond a high school degree, and that 94 percent of the state’s fastest growing STEM jobs will require advanced education.

'Rigorous academics should be seen as a fundamental part of the workforce strategy to prepare for the Commonwealth’s pressing talent needs. We need to tap into the potential of many more high school students – students who currently don’t have access to advanced academics such as AP courses,' said Susan F. Lusi, president and CEO of Mass Insight.''