Health Science Pathways

Del Lago Academy in Escondido, California prepares students for opportunities in healthcare and biotech and partners with local medical organizations to extend learning beyond the classroom. The academy was opened in 2013 by Escondido UHSD to extend access to careers in healthcare and biotech. The four pillars of the 800-student high school include: heal the world, fuel the world, feed the world, restore and protect the environment. Students engage in an interdisciplinary project focused on one of the pillars each semester. Juniors work alongside an industry professional for six weeks. 

Healthcare Careers Academy in Tacoma is a four-year, part-time high school program offered at two different high schools (Stadium and Mount Tahoma) where students engage in four years of healthcare skill-building and experiences. While ninth and tenth graders, students explore passions, have the opportunity to earn 5 certifications and learn about healthcare pathway choices from colleges and professionals. In eleventh and twelfth grade, students are connected to college partners to learn about healthcare programs, admissions, scholarships, and more. Additionally, this academy offers the Next Move Internship Program, where upper-level students have the choice to engage in one or more of the following: 60-90 hours healthcare internships guided by an industry mentor, 6-8 hour “shadow” to observe a college lab or healthcare facility, one-on-one informational interviews with a healthcare professional, or healthcare related volunteer activities. Key to the success of this program is the way that students are supported by various members of the program including their cohort of peers and upper-level students; high school teachers, many with a background in healthcare; a career readiness internship coach; college healthcare program students and staff; and working professionals. 

Ballard High School in Seattle, WA offers three innovative biotechnology courses: Biotech Biology, Biotech Genetics, and Systems Medicine. These courses incorporate real-world phenomena into the curriculum, developed in collaboration with prestigious institutions such as the Institute for Systems Biology and UW Genome Sciences. This curriculum begins with an introduction to professional skills and project-based learning, goal setting and portfolio development. Then juniors and seniors begin their more personalized schedules with internships, dual enrollment courses and capstone experiences. Juniors meet with industry mentors monthly during the first semester and take a five-week introduction to Essential Workplace Skills. During the second semester, they engage in a 10-12 week internship (at least 70 hours).

Michael DeBakey High School for Health Professions was the first High School for Health Professions in the nation. Opening in Houston, TX in 1972, this program began with  45 students attending classes at Baylor College of Medicine and continues to connect students to real-world learning experiences through a partnership with the Texas Medical Center. 

Aldine ISD in Houston, Texas partnered with Memorial Hermann Health System to redesign a local high school with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies to expose and prepare students for opportunities in the medical field. The collaboration not only equips young people with future-forward skills but also places them directly in a pipeline to work in a high-demand industry, addressing the medical desert in which the school district is situated.

Health Leadership High School in Albuquerque, NM prepares young people to become community health advocates and leaders in the healthcare industry. With just shy of 200 learners from 14-24 years old, the school is part of the Leadership Schools Network serving marginalized and disengaged youth. Each summer the staff solicits project ideas from community health providers. They do not have ‘courses,’ rather they have projects and most students work on three per day. Every project must have deliverables valuable to the community. All students in the network benefit from paid internships. they train kids to be health advocates (self, family, community) and were able to get kids quickly active in the pandemic response (see feature).

An hour west of O-Hare (Chicago, IL), Central High School brings college and career readiness to life for 1,300 learners in a rural community. Working with counselors and SchoolLinks, 8th grade students self-assess their interests. In 9th and 10th grade they explore college and career options and in 11th grade, they analyze their interests and experiences to start to make a plan. Finally, in 12th grade, they create their individualized postsecondary plan. The program features a Veterinary Science program (the only NAVTA-approved program in the area), an entrepreneurship program, and media production program that live streams sporting events.

Collegiate Edu-Nation, a network of 17 rural Texas districts, offers something like a rural P-TECH program by combining dual enrollment and work-based learning. For Health Science, they use the OneHealth model which focuses on animal, human and environmental health and takes students through a progression of awareness, exploration, preparation and career training. While rooted in Texas, they are beginning to work in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

The CTE program at Louisa County School District in Virginia offers a robust set of 17 industry-connected pathways, including a Teacher Academy (after starting a district early childhood center), Health Sciences and a variety of trades. 

At the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, CA, Dr. Bala Selvakumar hosts a genomics research seminar where students identify an area of interest, formulate a research question, collect data, and publish results in a journal of the National Human Genome Research Institute. Topics range from the use of AI to improve the diagnosis and quality of care of medical challenges like food allergies; to the role of societal inequities in the incidence of cancer; to the influence of environment versus genetics within the context of posttraumatic stress disorders, diabetes, tendon injuries and cancer; to the lack of diversity in clinical studies and its impact on healthcare for those under- or not represented. 

Roosevelt H-TECH in Dallas, Texas offers college credit (amounting to an Associate’s Degree),  internship opportunities and exploration in both Allied Health and Business Management fields.

Nursing and Healthcare at Fox Tech in San Antonio ISD is set up to feel like a hospital, with an ER room, a nurse’s station and a pharmacy. Here, the students can earn Phlebotomy Certification, Patient Care Tech Certification, among others. Students at the H-Tech also have the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree while still in college and also get connected to interviews for open job opportunities upon graduation. They partner with Alamo Colleges District and San Antonio College. 

St. Vrain Eagle Tech at Frederick High School works with Aims Community College and Northern Colorado Bioscience and Pharmaceutical companies to graduate students with a high school diploma and Associate of General Studies (AGS) degree in 4-6 years. This program offers a pathway in biochemistry. Along with college courses, students receive mentorships and internships through Agilent Technologies, KBI Biopharma, AGC Biologics or Corden Pharma to provide real-world experiences to supplement their academic coursework.

Lincoln-West School of Science and Health located in Cleveland, Ohio is the only school embedded in a public hospital. Through mastery-based learning and interdisciplinary studies, students are able to participate in powerful real-world learning in all subject. The fields not only include patient care, but also human resources, information technology, marketing and communications, food services, and engineering.

Summit Technology Academy in Southeast Kansas City, MO offers a year-long program designed for juniors and seniors who aim to explore careers in Allied Health or plan to pursue healthcare programs in college. Throughout the course, students will immerse themselves in medical terminology and engage in projects across various disciplines including Physical Therapy, Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, Dentistry, Occupational Therapy, EMT, Surgical Technology, Chiropractics, Athletic Training, and more. The curriculum also focuses on personal resume development and provides internship and externship opportunities. Additionally, students have the chance to earn industry-recognized credentials such as Basic Life Saver CPR, OSHA 10 Healthcare, and HIPAA training, equipping them with essential skills for their future careers. Students who take Allied Health at STA and have a 3.0 unweighted GPA/95% attendance may also choose to participate in a university partnership program called KUDegree in 3 (KUD3), in which students begin to earn a bachelor’s degree while still in high school.

Clairemont High opened in 1958 and now serves 820 students, making it one of the smaller high schools in San Diego USD. In 2015, with help from ConnectEd, the Clairemont staff implemented career pathways that gave learners the choice of four academies: Business, Digital Media Production, Health and Medical Science, and Information Technology. 

Elkhorn Crossing High School in Georgetown, Kentucky boasts a “Health Sciences Village,” a place to earn credentials like NOCTI, Biotechnology, EKG Technician and Pharmacy Technician industry certification and also Dual Credit English through University of Kentucky.

Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington D.C. is a four-year career education program that provides students with rigorous health and science coursework (through PLTW), in addition to college and career exposure, tailored academic support, and mentorship opportunities that go from Health Careers Exploration in year one, through principles of biomedical sciences and human body systems and ends with Medical Interventions in year four. 

Porterville High School Academy of Medical Careers AOHS in California offers NAF Global Health, an introduction public health on a global scale. Through this program, students discover what disease is and investigate how it impacts world populations. By studying different societies, they learn about the relationship between health and socioeconomic development. Learners discover how environmental, nutritional, and behavioral risk factors jeopardize health and understand how communities, governments, and cooperative global efforts can intervene to improve health.

The Artificial Intelligence for Global Health Challenge on KnoPro, is a great example of a way to get students working on health science-connected work. Students are challenged to answer the question: “How can AI be used to save lives and improve global health outcomes?” and win points, money, and more while gaining valuable skills and experiences.
The KnoPro platform from NAF extends client project opportunities to all students across multiple sectors. 

The Knowledge Society, a Canadian youth accelerator, is another standout example of students tackling big health-related challenges using technology. We’ve heard from students like Rachel who, while not working on a health-related project, is using CRISPR to edit crop sequences, which is just one example of how interdisciplinary these strands are.
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NFTE Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge consists of eight months of local, regional and national business plan and pitch competitions. Thousands of students go on to compete in a high-stakes national championship in New York City. Each round is judged by a panel of experts including business leaders and successful entrepreneurs who volunteer their time. Since NFTE’s National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge launched in 2006, millions of dollars in seed capital have been awarded and many of these projects have been focused on challenges within Health Sciences. 

Regeneron Science Fair from Society for Science is a great example of the power of science fairs for connecting students to doing work that matters. When speaking with students who participated in this program we heard them say time and time again the importance of interdisciplinary learning as a way to open up avenues for opportunity and agency. 

High Schools students in Las Cruces New Mexico visited Burrel College of Osteopathic Medicine (BCOM) as a part of CommunityShare. Beyond the typical tour, students had the chance to actively participate in workshops and gain hands-on experience using ultrasound machines on medical student volunteers.

BCOM medical students also visited the high school classroom on two occasions. Together, they conducted an enzyme lab and delved into the complexities of the nervous system using real-world case studies.