State grant to help buy school lab equipment

LYNN – Lynn English High School’ Science Department picked up a $77,000 Christmas bonus courtesy of Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.”Myself and my Department Head, Maura Walsh, wrote a grant for new microscopes,” said LEHS science teacher Lauren Mezzetti.Mezzetti said she learned Wednesday they had been successful. The grant, which totals, $77,419.35, is just a small portion of $3.2 million in grants given out by Murray and Life Sciences to support the purchase of life sciences training equipment and supplies at vocational technical schools, public high schools as well as workforce training programs across the state.The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is a quasi-public state agency tasked with implementing the Massachusetts Life Sciences Act, a 10-year, $1 billion initiative that was signed into law in June of 2008.Mezzetti said the grant is a welcome gift.”Some of our microscopes are probably 30 years old,” she said. “It will buy enough for five classrooms and the slides and things that go with them.”The old microscopes still work but Mezzetti said trying to examine cells or any type of bacteria is difficult because the resolution is not accurate enough for details.”All the jobs these kids will get will be in the math or science field,” Mezzetti said. “We need to turn them onto it now and you need more than (white) boards and notes to do that.”Mezzetti said the entire department works hard to make science interesting and the microscopes will only enhance the experience.LEHS was not the only lucky local school to be chosen. Revere High School picked up $98,176.02 and Northeast Metropolitan Vocational School District in Wakefield received $71,610.State Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein said she was thankful for Gov. Deval Patrick’s steadfast commitment “to provide all students across the commonwealth an equal opportunity to learn.”These resources are critical in assisting disadvantaged children and their families overcome difficulties to gain a good education and lead successful lives,” she said.Murray launched the first round of the MLSC Equipment and Supplies for High Schools Grant Program at the 7th Annual Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Summit held in 2010. He said this year’s round of grants will allow students in 31 communities across the commonwealth to gain more hands-on experience, which he hopes will get them excited about future careers in innovative industries.Last year Lynn Vocational Technical Institute received $300,000 under the same grant program after its Science Department Head, Banafsheh Salamat, wrote a grant to bring a CSI-style program to the school.Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].