Frequently Asked Questions

We appreciate donations of lab consumables and equipment, and are grateful for them if we can use them in our programs. We are also happy to help keep items out of landfills for those items that we cannot use by connecting you with educators who can use them.

Please reach out to tmilani@sdccd.edu if you are interested in making a donation to Miramar/our trained 6-12 teachers and include the following:

• A list of items that includes: the number of items/cases, the name of the item as it appears in the product catalog, the manufacturer's name, and the item number.
• Let us know if you wish to donate to Miramar only, or if you would like us to include the list in our communications with San Diego 6-12 teachers.
• If you want us to share the list with our trained teachers, provide a link to a Google Doc that is "viewable by anyone with the link," and an email address for the contact with whom the teachers should communicate if they are interested in any of the items.

Participation and loan of equipment and reagents is free of charge. Please note that we do not reimburse travel costs.

The first and only step to becoming an "ABE teacher" is to attend one of our teacher training workshops that is open to new teachers. Please email your name, your phone number, and your school’s name and address to tmilani@sdccd.edu.

Once you are trained, you are officially an "ABE teacher," and you become eligible to sign up to borrow the materials you need to be able to implement the ABE labs in your classroom at no cost.

To be eligible to implement the ABE labs, you must: 1) teach middle school, high school, and/or college students in a subject related to the ABE curriculum (e.g., biology, chemistry, etc.); 2) have access to an appropriate facility for implementing the labs with your students (i.e., a lab classroom); 3) be located within driving distance of Miramar College and be willing to drive to pick-up and drop-off materials.

Note that we do not have funding to pay teachers to attend our workshops and cannot support teachers' travel expenses.

The ABE program normally serves students indirectly through their teachers. We do not currently have programs that directly teach the ABE labs to students. So the way for a student to do the ABE labs is to have a teacher who participates in our program. Feel free to speak to your teacher and encourage them to participate!

If your teacher does not want to participate in ABE but you are still interested in getting involved, please contact us, and we may be able to point you to other opportunities.

The ABE-SD program serves teachers in the Greater San Diego area by providing them with training and access to the ABE curriculum and materials. Our curriculum is targeted toward high school students of all levels, but we also have many middle schools and colleges that participate in the program. Teachers usually use the program in life sciences classes (e.g., CP/Honors/AP biology, biotechnology).

Note that we do not generally serve students directly. (Please see related FAQ)

1. Hands-on training in current molecular biology techniques and experiments
2. Educational material such as PPT presentations and manuals ready to use for your classes
3. Professional laboratory equipment & reagents that you can borrow for your school FOR FREE
4. Technical support for your ABE classes