Nikia Kilgo said she remembers a time when she walked through the hallways of Monroe Middle ( MMS ) as a student nearly 30 years ago .
But as she watched her sixth-grade son Isaiah wear a lab coat while walking around the school ’ s new state-of-the-art laboratory , Nikia said she was “ beyond proud ” to see her alma mater provide students with hands-on , interactive experiences in the healthcare field .
“ What ’ s great about the Health Sciences Academy is that it shows students what is out there versus what is in their community . Some of these kids have never been exposed to this ,” she said , gesturing to students who were doing a neuroscience-related activity . “ I was a physical education teacher and I wasn ’ t exposed to any of this until college . It ’ s a great partnership and I ’ m so proud to have this program at Monroe Middle .”
In honor of the new Health Sciences Academy at Monroe Middle , Union County Public Schools ( UCPS ) and Carolinas HealthCare System ( CHS ) hosted a celebration on Oct . 17 to highlight their partnership and provide a tour of the new health sciences labs . Students were on hand to discuss what they ’ ve learned in the academy , and Med Center Air staff was also onsite for an ambulance demonstration with students .
During the celebration – which included parents , UCPS and CHS staff , board members , local government officials and community leaders -- UCPS Superintendent Dr . Andrew Houlihan said the academy is the most innovative and unique model for a middle school in the county , region and state . However , he added , none of it could have been possible without the support and partnership of CHS .
“ Carolinas HealthCare and our team came together many months ago to try to think differently about what we can do for our students here in Monroe ,” he said . “ And then this vision and idea for a health sciences academy really took shape over the course of about six months .”
Now , sixth grade students at MMS are enrolled in an integrated neuroscience / health science curriculum . All of the school ’ s students will take medical Spanish as a foreign language elective each year in a course that focuses on healthcare vocabulary while also preparing students for the ACT , PSAT and SAT .
Next year , seventh graders will take courses on scientific approaches
2 • Nov / Dec 2017 • Parent Teacher Magazine
UCPS and CHS celebrate new Health Sciences Academy at Monroe Middle
The celebration included parents , UCPS and CHS staff , board members , local government officials and community leaders .
Top : In honor of the new Health Sciences Academy at Monroe Middle , Union County Public Schools ( UCPS ) and Carolinas HealthCare System ( CHS ) hosted a celebration on Oct . 17 to highlight their partnership and provide a tour of the new health sciences labs .
Bottom Right : Sixth grade students at MMS are enrolled in an integrated neuroscience / health science curriculum . All of the school ’ s students will take medical Spanish as a foreign language elective each year in a course that focuses on healthcare vocabulary while also preparing students for the ACT , PSAT and SAT .
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