Pipeline partnerships steer elementary school students into medical careers [Sponsored]

Sponsored by EBR Focus Choice Schools

 

Across the country, children are participating in programs designed to inspire and prepare them for health care professions. Baton Rouge has a new school with hands-on interactive programs for children with a focus on healthcare.

Realizing how important it is to support the diverse and changing health care system and promote interest at the elementary level, Baton Rouge General Medical System and East Baton Rouge Parish School System’s Focus Choice Schools partner to create stepping stones for pre-medical and pre-health students with Park Medical Academy.


Park Elementary students will receive a strong foundation and an important link to the health care industry while helping students to develop and apply leadership, social, civic, and health care skills in a professional setting. The project-based exploratory model will include courses in forensics, medical technology, pharmaceutical, nursing, and clinical studies, which will serve as a catalyst for theme-based opportunities aligned with programs at the high school level.

Phase one begins in the 2022-2023 school year with a PK-6 phase-in approach that will provide a year of planning for the district and the medical center to adjust and redefine the instructional process to meet the needs of students as they matriculate to high school.


MORE THAN MEDICAL

The exploratory model will ensure that students have opportunities to explore a multi-faceted program at Park Elementary. In addition, programs will be offered to meet students’ emotional and social needs, such as art, dance and thematic clubs.


Focus Choice Schools are small, eco-models focusing on specialized themes on a smaller scale. This year, Park Elementary will build a strong foundation and help students develop and apply leadership, social, civic, and health care skills in a professional setting.

Focus Choice Schools are designed to provide parents with options to expand those  currently offered by the district. Students at these specialized schools will benefit in several ways with the opportunity to:

• Choose programs centered around their interests.

• Graduate from high school with an associate degree and a high school diploma ready for a demanding market.

• Better prepare to enter the workforce with high-level skills and knowledge.

• Access to a number of differentiated K-12 specialized programs with post-secondary institution or specialized industry partnerships.


Aside from grades and test scores, candidates who can demonstrate their interest and commitment to medicine from an early age stand out in the sea of applicants. Prepare for the medical field with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System’s expanding portfolio of Focus Choice Schools for the 2022-2023 school year. Visit ebrfocus.org to learn more.

The agreement with the Baton Rouge General Medical System will be divided into two phases: the first phase will begin with a PK-6 grade phase-in approach which will provide a year of planning for the district and the medical center to adjust and redefine the instructional process to meet the needs of students as they matriculate to high school.