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Parents briefed on health sciences academy
By Conner Hammett, chammett@starlocalnews.com
Plano ISD continued efforts to give parents and students a closer look at its three upcoming academies Wednesday as families from around the district came to Williams High School for more details on the planned health sciences academy.
The four-year academy, which was first announced in August, is being developed in coordination with Collin College. It is intended to give students an opportunity to earn college credit and technical certifications in the medical field during high school.
Students start the program in ninth grade, taking high school-level and college-articulated health science courses in addition to standard freshman classes.
"This particular program will be styled where the student will need to be able to handle college-level courses," said Superintendent Richard Matkin. "... It's an opportunity to get significant college hours taken care of during your ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th grade years."
Mary Hewett, executive director for informational technology, said the college courses academy students take will cost the same as they do for regular college students -- $37 per credit hour, or about $111 for a three-hour course.
While the details of how the courses will be paid for have not been finalized, Matkin said the district hopes to pay for all students' courses through scholarship efforts and corporate sponsorships.
The academy will be open to all students in the district and housed at Williams (grades 9 and 10) and Plano East Senior High (grades 11 and 12) in dedicated health sciences areas complete with reception areas and hospital beds.
In order to attend the academy, students outside of the Plano East feeder system must transfer to Williams in ninth or 10th grade, Hewett said. Transportation will be provided, with pickups scheduled at high schools and middle schools throughout the district, she said.
Williams Principal Lynn Ojeda said while transitioning from middle school to high school is already a big change for students without joining an academy, the district will work to make new students feel comfortable at Williams.
"Even in a setting where we're asking students to rise to the rigor of a college-level course, we are still doing that in an academy setting, where students are part of a cohort and a group and they have that support by their Collin College faculty and their Plano ISD teachers to be successful in that rigorous environment," she said.
After the presentation, Elaine Khan said the academy seems like a perfect fit for her daughter Nadia, an eighth-grader at Bowman Middle School who is interested in sports medicine.
"You can leave high school and get a decent job in the career field you want to get into," she said, adding that the ability to earn college credits also helped win her over.
District officials said buses will only provide transportation to the academy once every day and that no selection process or program capacity has been finalized yet.
Construction will start at Williams in March for an August 2013 opening, Hewett said. Plano East's part of the academy will open in August 2014.
A second meeting is planned for Nov. 14 at Shepton High School, 5505 Plano Parkway. For information and to apply for the Plano ISD Health Sciences Academy, visit www.healthsciences.pisd.edu.
Health Sciences Academy timeline
Nov. 14: Information meeting, 7 p.m., Shepton High School library
Jan. 11: Deadline to apply online
Jan. 18: Acceptance letters sent to parents
Jan. 25: Intent to participate and transfer forms due
Feb. 1: Academy conferences start
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