Frequently Asked Questions

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. Due to funding transitions, we do not currently have trainings scheduled for new teachers. Interested teachers should contact us to be placed on our interest list. Please email your name, your phone number and your school’s name and address to lshipp@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.

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 one of our two distribution centers and be willing to drive to a center 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