news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Guilford County Schools’ efforts to ensure no child is left behind rely on more than assessments and testing. Initiatives also include nontraditional schools that cater to students who need a more challenging, yet nurturing, academic environment.

The district’s newest high school designed to fit this mold, the Middle College at UNCG, welcomes 50 ninth-graders next month and joins similar early and middle college programs at Bennett College, Greensboro College, Guilford College, GTCC and N.C. A&T.

But there’s a twist. The high school at UNCG will offer students a fast track to career development in health care fields by combining a curriculum focused on health and science with a work-study program.

“Our goal is to have kids college, career and life ready,” says Angela Polk-Jones, principal of the Middle College at UNCG.

Students eventually will be eligible to take college-level general education courses, as well as classes focusing on medical fields such as nursing. They could earn up to two years of college credit by the time they graduate.

“What we’re trying to do is provide a program that will have kids look at their future in a little broader sense,” says Tom Martinek, a kinesiology professor and coordinator of the Community Youth Sport Development program in UNCG’s School of Health and Human Sciences.

The work-study component, which will allow students to intern with health professionals in the community, is part of the long-term plan. Internships are expected to start in the students’ junior year, administrators say. Job-shadowing opportunities will be developed sooner, but the school district has not developed connections with specific businesses.

The school is being started at a time when health care careers are expanding. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care fields will generate 3.2 million new jobs between 2008 and 2018, more than any other industry, largely in response to the growing elderly population.

Martinek, who has led youth development programs in the community, championed the creation of the high school for several years before it received approval from the university and the Guilford County Board of Education for the 2011-12 academic year.

GCS officials say the middle college’s funding includes the typical state allocation, federal Race to the Top grant money and private donations.

Martinek will be the university liaison. But the high school will be staffed by GCS employees led by Polk-Jones, a UNCG graduate and women’s basketball All-American who has six years of experience as an assistant principal. Staff members include school counselor Samara Johnson, who most recently worked as the district’s supervisor of high school counseling, and treasurer and data manager Vivian Lane. Three instructors will teach math, science and language arts classes. Martinek will lead the health and physical education curriculum.

Polk-Jones and her staff are receiving training this summer from the N.C. New Schools Project, a nonprofit devoted to innovative approaches to education. The organization also has partnered with GCS’ other middle and early college programs.

The Middle College at UNCG is designed to serve students in grades nine through 12 with a full enrollment of 200 at four years.

Aside from the smaller class sizes, higher-education environment and specialized curriculum, students also will receive instruction to help them develop job, communication and basic workplace etiquette skills, providing a pathway for them to reach their professional goals, Martinek and Polk-Jones say.

Educators hope to show students that career options extend beyond doctors and nurses to audiologists, dental hygienists, nutritionists, physical therapists, sports medicine careers and more.

The incoming freshmen come from various locations around Guilford County and represent the diverse student population GCS serves, according to Polk-Jones. The nearly 175 applicants were screened in the spring through the process used for the district’s other middle colleges and magnet schools.

“They’re all bright kids who bring something different to the table,” Martinek says of the 50 students chosen. The goal was to find students who may have a hard time fitting in to a traditional high school setting. “That could be a lot of different types of situations,” he adds. “That could be kids who are academically gifted but can’t hang in with the traditional setup and the kids who need individual attention to get them focused.”

Parents whose young teens will attend the middle college this year already are looking forward to the long-term benefits.

Rose Bate hopes the job shadowing and internship opportunities will provide her 13-year-old daughter, Michaela, perspective on career options. “It will give her a better idea if she wants to pursue it,” she says.

And Kim Harvey says her son, Zach, 14, is looking forward to the smaller class sizes and targeted curriculum as he plans to become a trauma surgeon. “This will help him hopefully get started a little earlier,” she says.

Polk-Jones views the school as the answer to some families’ quest to find the right academic fit for their children. “Every student can learn,” she says. “We just need to give them the environment where they can reach their full potential.”