A fast growing and interactive program at Falcon High School has additional resources to support students throughout the 2011-12 school year. For the fifth consecutive year, the Academy of Health Sciences at Falcon High has received a grant from the Caring For Colorado Foundation – a five-year total grant of $156,035, which supports equipment for a three-bed interactive and fully outfitted teaching lab, interactive health-care curriculum and accompanying laptop cart, and advanced credit classes and clinical opportunities at Pikes Peak Community College.This year, the $40,635 grant will support partial scholarships for top scoring AOHS students to compete in the state and national Heath Occupations Students of America events; support for students to participate in the summer clinical experience at PPCC, both in nursing assistant and emergency medical technician programs; necessary equipment needed for becoming a testing site for the nursing assistant accreditation program; and partial tuition credit for the increasing number of students enrolling in dual credit classes with PPCC.By developing the health care work force in secondary school, the FHS Academy of Health Sciences is supporting the mission of the CFC Foundation – to promote and serve the health care needs of the citizens of Colorado.The FHS program is already being used by other schools in the area as a successful model for engaging students in health occupations at the high school level. Additionally, Falcon’s AOHS program has been recognized by the Colorado Career and Tech Ed Department as a leading model for the state. The CTE recommended District 49 AOHS as one of three national sites to participate in a research study with the University of Louisville on effective high school preparation for the health care workforce.To learn more about the Falcon High Health Sciences Academy, visit http://d49.org.
