March 28, 2016 (CAMBRIDGE, MA) – Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School (Diman) in Fall River, Massachusetts has been named as this year’s Joshua Boger Innovative School of the Year by the MassBioEd Foundation for its commitment to engaging students at all levels in hands-on biotechnology experiences.
Diman was selected as a MassBioEd Foundation BioTeach School in 2014. Over the past two years, Diman has built a dedicated biotechnology lab space and enhanced its life sciences curricula with biotechnology activities that span the academic year.
Not only has Diman enriched its curriculum, it has developed new biotechnology programs to engage students outside of the classroom including the establishment of a biotechnology science club and the Diman Genes in Space team. These changes at Diman have sparked student interest in life sciences and inspired them to request the addition of an Advanced Placement Biology course. Recently, Diman students submitted an experiment to the Genes in Space national competition where they were awarded an Honorable Mention.
“Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School has gone above and beyond to foster an enthusiasm for life sciences and help encourage students to pursue careers in biotechnology as they look toward their futures,” said Peter Abair, Executive Director of the MassBioEd Foundation. “Diman has demonstrated commitment to enhancing its science program by developing cutting-edge curricula and programs both in and out of the classroom. The judging panel was particularly impressed with the new found passion students have demonstrated for biotechnology and their request for additional opportunities to learn and engage.”
“Diman is honored to be the recipient of the Joshua Boger Innovative School of the Year Award for 2016,” said Kyle Alves, Principal of Diman. “With highly motivated and dedicated science teachers like Mrs. Liss O’Connell, Diman is on the cutting edge of infusing project-based biotechnology instruction into grade nine and ten biology curriculum. Through projects such as extracting DNA, Diman students are building their foundational knowledge of life sciences while fostering their analytical, critical, and problem-solving skills in burgeoning field of biotechnology. Within the next few months, Diman will be investing over $350,000 to provide our students with a state-of-the-art biotechnology lab and classroom that will further enhance our ability to prepare students to be well-versed in biotechnology, inspire them to pursue life science courses in college, and make them knowledgeable about related careers.”
The Joshua Boger Innovative School of the Year Award was established by the MassBioEd Foundation to honor a Massachusetts school that has distinguished itself through exemplary progressive biotechnology educational programming.
Diman is well-deserving of the prestigious award for its dedication to ensuring its students have the opportunity to explore the life sciences. The award will help Diman grow their curricula and expand their biotechnology programs.
The award will be presented at a luncheon ceremony at the MassBio Annual Meeting on Thursday, March 31 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin Land Blvd, Cambridge, MA. Diman will be represented by Kyle Alves, Principal, and by 10th grade students Dylan Barcelos, Kylie Cooper, and Aaron Gouveia.
To register for the MassBio Annual Meeting, visit www.MassBio.org.
Media can register free of charge by emailing Jessica Roche at Jessica.roche@massbio.org.