Welcome to the Foothill Technology High School Bioscience Academy
|
Welcome!
Foothill Technology High School's BioScience Academy is a three year elective program designed to give students who are interested in preparing for careers in the health science or biotechnology fields and opportunity to gain specialized knowledge and training while in high school.
The BioScience Academy was established in 2003 with a Specialized School Program grant from the State of California. These funds allowed the development of a three year program that designed to provide students who are interested in preparing for a career in health care or bioscience access to advanced coursework and lab skills. Entrance to the Academy is quite competitive and is based on academic performance, teacher recommendation and an extensive interview during the spring of freshman year. Students who are accepted to the program typically are strong in the math and sciences and clearly indicate an interest in a future in the sciences.
The Academy program begins sophomore year with a specialized course that exposes students to the vast world of health care and bioscience in order to help students see the possibilities that are available to them. The world of health care is the focus of the junior year via Honors Physiology and Medical Technology – two courses that together provide students with the academic knowledge and the development of patient care, first aid and clinical lab skills. The students, during their junior year, are all provided the opportunity to shadow multiple professionals in hospital and clinic settings in order to see, first hand, the application of their knowledge. The final year of the program is quite sophisticated as the seniors spend a year studying the complex topic of Bioethics and are involved working with DNA and proteins in the Biotechnology Lab. During the Biotech labs, students are participating in a world wide project called the Barcoding Initiative to help document sections of mitochondrial DNA of species of local Channel Island rockfish and contribute to an international database.
Academy Director: Darcy Perez Duffy
Academy Staff: Mika Anderson and Richard Geib
Academy students will be involved in four specialized courses during their 10th - 12th grade year at Foothill. These include:
- 10th grade: BioScience Survey
- 11th grade: Medical Technology in conjunction with Physiology Honors
- 12th grade: Biotechnology and Bioethics
Please see the course pages for a general scope and sequence for each course.
In addition to regular coursework, students will Job Shadow at four different locations in the county as well during their junior year, as well as be involved in an Internship during the summer before their senior year.
Partnerships in the medical and biotechnology community will be needed to establish these Job Shadows and Internships! |
