MVEF Grant Recipient Spotlight: Leah Perry – Empowering Future Scientists through Hands-On Innovation

MVEF Grants $2971 to Leah Perry, MVHS Teacher

The Mt. Vernon Education Foundation is proud to support Leah Perry’s innovative classroom grant request to modernize biotechnology equipment and lab experiences across three high-impact courses: Dual Credit Biology, Forensics, and Zoology. This investment reflects our ongoing commitment to educational excellence, hands-on learning, and preparing students for real-world success.

Ms. Perry’s proposal exemplifies innovation in action. By replacing outdated and failing biotechnology equipment with modern gel electrophoresis chambers, students will gain access to state-of-the-art tools used in real scientific fields—tools that are faster, more reliable, and designed for student engagement. This new equipment allows for real-time observation of DNA results, reduces preparation and run times, and makes it possible for students to complete an entire lab within a single class period. It also eliminates many of the barriers and frustrations of the current outdated system, allowing more time for inquiry, analysis, and critical thinking.

What stood out most in Ms. Perry’s proposal was how powerfully these tools will integrate into multiple disciplines:

In Dual Credit Biology, students investigate conservation genetics in a real-world lab titled “Discovering Lemur Diversity”, exploring speciation, ecology, and DNA analysis.
In Zoology, that same lab deepens student understanding of how new species are identified in the field—connecting classroom learning to real-world careers in animal science.
In Forensics, students explore a historical cold case in “The Princes in the Tower”, using dye electrophoresis to examine DNA evidence in a centuries-old mystery that blends history and biology.

This grant supports far more than new tools—it supports student empowerment, interdisciplinary exploration, and equity of access to cutting-edge science education. Students will no longer simply read about biotechnology—they will perform it, analyze it, and understand it through experience.

By funding Leah Perry’s grant, MVEF is investing in the kind of transformative education that prepares our students not just to learn about the future—but to lead it.