By the year 2026, an estimated 2.4 million health profession jobs will be added in the United States, making healthcare one of the most sought after and highly projected occupations in the nation. In the burgeoning city of Austin, the healthcare industry is booming, but lacks racial diversity among its health professionals. In Travis County, merely 13 percent of physicians are Asian, 10 percent are Latino, and 2.2 percent are African-American.
IDEA Public Schools will train the next generation of healthcare providers in Austin and open IDEA Health Professions in Austin in fall 2019. This magnet school is a tuition-free public school, and like all other IDEA schools, IDEA Health Professions in Austin is an open enrollment school, meaning that a student lottery is conducted to fill open seats to ensure equal access for all applicants.
IDEA Health Professions is not only for aspiring physicians, but also for those interested in social work, public health, nursing, bio engineering, veterinary medicine, dentistry, healthcare policy and law. The diverse and robust curriculum begins in kindergarten and will teach and train students in healthcare-focused classes. By participating in this type of coursework from a young age, IDEA Health Professions students will have a competitive edge over their peers when applying to top-tier universities and medical schools.
IDEA Health Professions Academy (kinder – 5th grade) will be led by Principal Jarod Hawk. IDEA Principal Cameron Cook will take helm of IDEA Health Professional College Preparatory (6th – 12th grade). Cook is a Principal in Residence (PIR) and already has big plans and aspirations for his students next year in east Austin.
“We will empower students from across the city with a college preparatory education. We are hearing more and more from medical and professional schools that they are seeking greater diversity in their student classes,” he says. “IDEA Health Professions will be an incubator, that mirrors the demographics of our city and provides our students with a rigorous, cutting-edge curriculum.”
Once built, the unique campus will include state-of-the-art facilities, and medical equipment and provide students with an authentic learning experience, preparing all students for success to and through college. Since IDEA’s first graduating class in 2007, 100 percent of seniors have been accepted to colleges and universities nationwide.
A symbolic Groundbreaking Ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, November 14. The campus will be ready for its new IDEA scholars in August 2019 and serve 468 students in kinder through 2nd and 6th grade. Each year, the campus will add a grade level until it is at full capacity, serving kinder through 12th grade.
Future healthcare and STEM professionals will receive an advantageous start and exemplary education at IDEA Health Professions. Applications for 2019-2020 IDEA Health Profession are available now!
