New partnership prepares students for health sciences careers
A new $3.9 million Aurora LIGHTS grant will shine the light on health sciences and create a pathway that leads students into health care professions. The health care industry is expected to generate more jobs by 2016 than any other industry in the United States with three million new health care jobs being created in less than 10 years.
This LIGHTS grant has been created through a partnership that includes the Aurora Public Schools (APS), the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, the Community College of Aurora, the Metropolitan Community Provider Network, the Colorado Area Health Education Center System, and the Central Colorado Area Health Education Center.
The Aurora LIGHTS partnership will support APS in providing the following unique learning opportunities for K-12 students:
• Students at the Montview Math & Health Sciences Elementary, Paris Elementary and Park Lane Elementary will benefit from integrated curricula that include health sciences field experiences and career exposure.
• After completing the fifth grade, students from the three elementary schools will have the opportunity to apply for admission to the North Middle School Academy of Health Sciences & Technology. The academy offers curricula that include health sciences field experiences and career exposure on the Anschutz Medical Campus. More than 90 students are already enrolled in the academy.
• The career pathway continues at Aurora Central High School and Hinkley High School with the Academies of Health Sciences & Technology. In addition to academy options, high school students may follow the path to health sciences careers at William Smith High School, the first APS pilot school, or at T. H. Pickens Technical College.
Aurora Public Schools students may continue on to careers in the health sciences by pursuing studies at the Community College of Aurora, the University of Colorado Denver, and at professional schools on the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus.
North Middle School Academy of Health Sciences & Technology students, clad in white lab coats, celebrate the Aurora LIGHTS partnership.
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