Berkeley, California
A key global location of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, the Berkeley, California, site sponsors a variety of hands-on science education initiatives for elementary, middle, high school and community college students through Making Science Make Sense.
Elementary School Programs
Bayer provides science education programs, volunteers and financial resources to Rosa Parks Elementary School, Berkeley Public Schools and its other partner schools in Oakland, Vallejo and Sacramento.
In 1997, with company funding, the Bayer Children's Science Center was established at Rosa Parks Elementary School. Bayer employee-volunteers provide tutoring and other support in Rosa Parks' classrooms and the Science Center. As a result, Rosa Parks Elementary School was named a science magnet school and now receives additional federal funding for its science programming.
High School and Community College Program
At the high school and community college level, Bayer spearheaded in 1992 the creation of a unique hands-on biotechnology school-to-career program for high school and community college students called Biotech Partners (formerly known as BBEI or Berkeley Biotechnology Education, Inc.). A nationally recognized model for school-to-career partnerships, Biotech Partners provides a comprehensive, hands-on academic and job training program in Berkeley and Oakland public schools for populations typically underrepresented in the sciences - especially students of color, young women and those from low-income households. Biotech Partners’ unique multi-year program consists of a career-focused, hands-on science and technology curriculum from 11th-grade through community college (Laney College); paid summer internships for high school students; yearlong co-op jobs for community college participants; and support services to help each student achieve success. The program prepares young people for skilled technical positions in the ever-expanding bioscience and healthcare industries. Today, Biotech Partners’ work is supported by the generous participation of and funding from more than 35 corporate, government, foundation, education and health care partners.
And, recent evaluation results show Biotech Partners’ program works. Since 1993, Biotech Partners has placed nearly 700 youth in internships and co-op work positions. Approximately 97 percent of students who complete at least one year of the program graduate high school. This is in marked contrast to the other students in the school districts that Biotech Partners serves. Furthermore, the study found that Biotech Partners’ students who enroll at Laney College have a 67 percent completion rate, which is more than double the national completion average for students attending non-four-year post-secondary institutions. Usually within 30 days of graduation, Biotech Partners’ students are employed in the industry. Employers report Biotech Partners’ graduates “outperform their peers at work” and are “significantly better than their co-workers on the vast majority of technical skills, including familiarity with laboratory equipment, and processes… computer applications and instrumentation, ability to learn how to use new equipment and to learn new processes.”
Community Programs
The Berkeley MSMS program also includes partnerships with area science centers, such as the Lawrence Hall of Science, San Francisco Exploratorium, Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose and Chabot to bring hands-on science to thousands of students and their families.
Last updated: December 2010
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