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J. M. Wright
Technical High School will introduce a new program next year to
prepare 36 to 50 area high school students for careers in allied
health fields as part of a restructuring of course offerings,
curriculum, and equipment at the regional facility.
"This
is an important first step toward rebuilding connections with
the communities that J.M. Wright was designed to serve," said
Dr. Abigail L. Hughes, superintendent of the Connecticut Technical
High School System. "We
are working with Stamford , Norwalk and surrounding
towns to develop educational opportunities that respond to the
needs of students in the region and the local economy."
The
new initiative seeks to establish links with area hospitals and
with Norwalk Community College
to create educational and career choices in the allied
health fields, including nursing, emergency medical services,
lab and diagnostic technicians and many other careers in medicine
and health. The program will accept between 36 and 50 high school
sophomores (10th graders) each year beginning in Sept.
2005.
"We
have been working behind the scenes to develop partnerships with
local school districts, the hospitals and higher educational institutions
serving Fairfield County
. Our
discussions have been very productive. We will be ready to launch
the program next school year," said Hughes.
"We
appreciate that people are pulling together to re-establish J.M.
Wright as a vital educational facility serving lower
Fairfield
County . We
are extremely pleased with the level of support we are receiving
from hospital, college and school officials and the response from
leaders in the region has been very positive."
House Speaker Moira
Lyons said, "There are numerous J.M.
Wright graduates in
Fairfield County
that owe much of their success to this institution.
It is unfortunate that J.M. Wright has lost enrollment
from the communities of our region in recent years. We need to
re-establish this facility as a vital center of learning in our
region, and create more opportunities for our young people."
Enrollment
from the region has declined significantly in the last five years.
Only about 150 students from lower
Fairfield County
now attend. The school is beginning a recruitment
drive to tell students about opportunities available.
The
new medical careers program will be structured as a "cohort model"
which means that students will move through the school day together
as a group, taking the same courses, following the same daily
schedule.
The
program will recruit 18 students from Stamford
and 18 students from Norwalk to begin the program
as 10th graders
Students
will graduate with a high school diploma and will be prepared
to pursue careers as certified nurse's aides, X-ray technicians,
emergency medical technicians or work in a medical office. The
program also provides a strong foundation for future study toward
RN, LPN, biomedical technicians, and other medical and dental
careers.
J.M.
Wright will continue to recruit current eighth graders from the
region who are interested in earning their high school degree
as they acquire technical skills in electrical, plumbing, culinary
arts, auto mechanics and hair dressing.
The regional facility will also consider adding such programs
as mechanical or architectural drafting and other fields if there
is sufficient interest from students enrolling in future years. |
