Eight Carmen Arace Middle School students are experiencing the fields of science and laboratory medicine through a novel 10-week after-school partnership with the Center for DNA-Guided Medicine in Hartford.
The Center’s Director of Educational Programs Dr. Mohan Kocheria, and colleagues, have been overseeing the sessions.
CAMS' Principal Dr. Trevor Ellis said the goal of the Youth Academy after-school program, now in its 12th year, is to promote math and expose students to careers in science, laboratory medicine and research.
"This aligns with the district's Portrait of a Graduate initiative and effort to prepare students for college and meaningful careers," Ellis said. "This particular job sector focuses on inquiry-based learning that may, ultimately, find cures for diseases and health ailments, such as cancer and COVID."
The weekly sessions, which end next month, engage students with a hybrid- approach to learning, combining classroom instruction and laboratory-activity. The sessions will start again in January of 2024.
This is the first year that laboratory science and research was introduced to CAMS' students.