DESCRIPTION

The Director of Special Programs at San Marcos Unified School District (SMUSD)
has worked for the past two years to launch a Health Academy that will provide
high school juniors who are not necessarily college-bound with the opportunity
to enroll in a Health Academy. The high school that hosts the project is brand
new and highly diverse, with 45% of students Latino, 45% Caucasian, and 10%
“other Non-White”.
The project is a collaboration between the SMUSD, Palomar College, California
State University San Marcos (CSU-SM) and a local hospital (Palomar Pomerado
Health).   The first year of the program provides high school juniors with a
general introduction to the health care field, using curriculum that
incorporates college material from Advanced First Aid and Medical Terminology
courses.  The second year course incorporates college material from Clinical
Assisting:  Patient Care and Adult Health Assessment.  When students have
completed both years they will have earned 12 units towards Medical Assisting
Certification and they will have developed an appreciation of the diverse field
of healthcare occupations. They will also have earned 12.5 units of credits at
Palomar College. 

The curriculum was developed by the high school, Palomar College and CSU-SM with
grant support from the hospital.  The instructor for the first year course
(which is currently being delivered) is an RN.

EVIDENCE OF IMPACT/SUCCESS

There was strong interest in the Health Academy from the outset.  To support the
recruitment effort, Palomar College asked 4th semester Filipino and Hispanic RN
students to represent the Health Sciences Department at a High School
Registration Fair that highlights the different occupational academies students
can join in their junior year.  At that year’s meeting, students had the option
to sign up for the new Health Academy. The RN students arrived dressed in their
nursing uniforms and were warmly received. 

At the end of the Registration Fair, more than 100 students had signed up for
the new program.  “We had expected quite a bit of interest, but this was
remarkable.  We were very surprised,” the Director of Special Programs commented.  

The first cohort started in Fall 2005 with an enrollment of104 students. 
Several months into the first semester of classes, reports suggested that the
program is going very well.  Students were actively engaged in the hands-on
curriculum (for example, at a field trip to the partner hospital students were
equipped with scrubs and stethoscopes) and many had expressed strong interest in
pursing a health care career.  Although the students interests covered a wide
range of occupational specialty areas, most still identified nursing as their
number one career goal.  In the Spring of 2006, many students will be starting
internships where they will be paired with college student interns at Palomar
Pomerado Health.  The internships will be coordinated by Community Outreach for
Prevention and Education (COPE).

Parents have also become actively involved through an advisory group that
Palomar Pomerado Health formed.  The group meets monthly to discuss the program
and the program director reports that the parents are enthusiastic and
supportive of the work of the teacher and the partner agencies.  
As a key indicator of the program’s early success, several local school
districts are planning to use the curriculum and begin their own Health
Academies in the fall of 07.