For the past couple of months, a hotly debated topic addressed amongst the BOE and Mountain Lakes residents has been the future of the Academy for Biotechnology. The contract for the Academy at MLHS is up by the end of the 2020-2021 school year, so the decision of whether or not Biotech should stay has been discussed with powerful contenders on either side. On November 18th, the final decision was made.
As of next school year, no new students will be accepted into the Academy for Biotechnology at Mountain Lakes High School. However, all students currently enrolled in the Academy are guaranteed the option to finish their high school career at Mountain Lakes, should they choose to do so.
Why is the program not being renewed?
There were many parents, board members, and students who advocated to keep Biotech in the Mountain Lakes School District, but ultimately, the argument that not enough visible benefits were coming out of the program won in the end. Many of the arguments against Biotech that were presented at BOE meetings through google slides presentations and speakers included the increase in class size that has to be accommodated, replacement of equipment costs, low tuition and gain in money, the need for additional teachers, lack of opportunities for Mountain Lakes students, and negative outcomes in the college admissions process.
One of the biggest factors in phasing out the program was the end of the grant money. At the start of the program’s origins, Biotech was given a grant, and by the end of this school year, all of the money will be depleted. After this, the Mountain Lakes School District will have to cover the additional costs of all of the new equipment that has to be purchased for the Academy. Biotech student tuition does not bring in as much as Boonton Township tuition, so the gain was not sufficient enough. The BOE also feared that the Biotech students provide too much competition for college admissions.
However, many people thought the program had more of a positive than a negative effect, and some people do not necessarily believe everything that was displayed in the past few months at BOE meetings.
What are the arguments for keeping Biotech at MLHS?
There are plenty of positive things about the Academy for Biotechnology being housed at MLHS that people mentioned at the BOE meetings. For instance, the Biotech cohorts increase the amount of intellectually curious students in MLHS. The program itself has and continues to bring new opportunities to Mountain Lakes students in the form of guest speakers and new courses. New courses like AP Seminar and Capstone were introduced to the rest of the school because of Biotech, and the number of students in AP classes has increased significantly since the start of the program.
Students that are a part of the program, parents, and other members of the community spoke about all of this and more in hopes of keeping Biotech in the school. However, the presentation about Biotech presented from the BOE only covered one positive aspect of the program: the increase in rigorous courses for Mountain Lakes High School. Community members felt they had to inform the BOE about many of these other positive aspects. Members of the community were also concerned about the accuracy of the numbers in the Biotech Google Slides presentation, which was shown on multiple occasions at BOE meetings on the issue.
What has the community response been since the final decision was made?
During the BOE meeting on November 4th, the community made it very clear about how they felt about the information being presented to them. The slides did not include all of the numbers for costs and benefits, and the ones that were included were not proven. The public started to do the math and ask about how much Biotech brought in. The only reason they got from the presenter, Carol Delsandro, was “it depends,” and there was even an “I don’t know.” After this, one member of the Mountain Lakes community even yelled out “just say it, that you made money.” Students from Biotech also made a petition that got over 200 signatures from Mountain Lakes residents, but the overall decision of phasing out Biotech still was made in the end.
The Mountain Lakes School District, as well as the Morris County Vocational School District, has assured the Mountain Lakes community of the future of the Biotech program. Although Biotech will not continue at Mountain Lakes High School, incoming freshmen next year for the Academy of Biotechnology will be housed at the Morris County School of Technology in Denville. As for the current students in Biotech, they have been assured that there will be no change to their education. Dr. Azar remarked that moving the students would not be appropriate, and phasing out the program was the option that the BOE chose. However, the uncertainty has made many students and parents question what the future holds.
Some Biotech students fear that they are disliked by the people in Mountain Lakes, and there is overall much discontent with the decision. To address these feelings, Mr. Carl Blanchard, Director of the Academy for Biotechnology, sent out a letter to parents and students with a message of where to go from here. In the letter he notes:
“Because of what has happened, I feel even more committed to teaching students about the 4 Cs that anchor our program – collaboration, critical thinking, communication and creativity. The past few weeks have been full of teachable moments and I’m sure we’ll continue to discuss the importance of the democratic process, effective and transparent sharing of correct facts and personal opinion – and the difference between them, respectful disagreement, and logical, clear-eyed analysis. The scientific community expects nothing less than this and those who do not adhere to strict standards of intellectual and personal engagement do not flourish. Despite where we now find ourselves, I’m confident we’ll adapt to the new situation and continue to grow and learn from one another.”
Mr. Carl Blanchard
Director, Academy for Biotechnology
All in all, there is no saying what the future may hold for the Academy for Biotechnology, but in the words of Mr. Sanchez, the Mountain Lakes School District and community will be “greatly saddened that we will not be adding a new cohort next year.”
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