TEACHER OF INTEREST
The BIOTECH TEACHER
BY JERRY SHAW
An honor for individual success is not as important
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as recognizing the whole group involved in that
achievement, biotechnology teacher Jeffrey Bush
likes to point out.
When he was named Vero Beach High School’s Teacher of
the Year, he admits he didn’t “feel comfortable,” preferring
instead to acknowledge other teachers and professionals, as
well as the students, who helped in the accomplishments of
his unique science class.
“It is really because of the program, not because of me,”
Bush explains. “It’s about the program more than anything
else.”
Bush’s biotech room was transformed from an old automotive
class into a functional lab that amazes the best people in
the field. “Professionals come in and they just can’t believe it,
what we have and what these kids are doing,” he notes.
Gina Hodges, head of the career and technology department
at the time, worked on the aesthetics while Bush
focused on the technical aspects in the designing of the lab.
They also worked with an architect. “It’s a beautiful facility,
very unique,” Bush declares. “There are very few high
schools that have what we have.”
The school administration gave them overwhelming support.
His program gets continued assistance from community
organizations, such as Harbor Branch, the USDA, Syngenta,
the Indian River County Sheriff’s Department and the Indian
River Medical Center.
“The partnerships we have in the area have been really
helpful,” Bush says.
Students in the program can earn state accreditation in biotechnology
by taking an exam after two years, which helps
them get jobs or enter colleges. By the third year of the program,
students can begin doing internships or field research
for such places as Harbor Branch. They can also earn credits
for college.
Two students who haven’t yet graduated have already
been hired to work at Syngenta, which provides crop solutions.
Other students have found jobs with labs in the sheriff’s
department and the medical center.
Most of the students, however, want to use the knowledge
they’ve learned to attend colleges and universities. Two students
are at Yale. One college student told Bush she loved the
school, but felt the lab at Vero Beach had better equipment.
“We have a lot of students who have done amazing
things,” Bush says.
“I am very proud to say our tax dollars were well spent as
this is directly affecting the lives of many students in a very
positive way.”
Bush oversees six biotech classes at the high school with
about 28 students in each class. Biotechnology is related to
finding cures for diseases, attacking viruses, growing and
manipulating cells, DNA research, and genetics. Agriculture,
food industries, and medical research labs benefit from the
field of science.
“The USDA has been very helpful,” Bush says. “Each year
ED DRONDOSKI PHOTOS
Finding scientific solutions may sound difficult to many people, but Jeff
Bush, a biotechnology teacher at Vero Beach High School, makes it easier
to understand for his students.
they spend time with us, teaching the kids the technologies
they are doing.”
To share his teaching award with other instructors, Bush
came up with his TOY (teacher of the year) project for the
teacher-of-the-year gala at the school.
He asked staff members at VBHS to email him back
with stories about something they did to help a student or
education. He was amazed when he received dozens of little
stories about how they aided kids in need or improved the
skills of students.
One staff member wrote about how many teachers open
their doors to kids after school so they “get to tell their story
or feel that there is someone who will listen to them or even
care about them … My hat’s off to all those teachers who give
up planning, lunch and after-school prep for counseling!”
Others mentioned how teachers helped out students
financially when they needed books and clothes, paying for
cheerleading camp or helping to raise funds for a student
fighting lymphoma.
Bush called it “the only thing important to me about the >>
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