-
Administrator: Mr. Matthew Corcoran
-
The Harding Medical Careers Magnet is the high school magnet for students who are desirous of pursuing a career in the health field. It is a high academic program with a concentration on the sciences. Our students are exposed to many career opportunities in the health field and are able to be certified in CPR/First Aid, as EMT's (one of our students, a certified EMT featured in a recent CT Post article, was able to assist in emergency care on a Florida-bound airplane), and Certified Nursing Assistants. They make many visitations to hospitals and other health sites, as well as do two marking periods of job "shadowing".
Opportunities open up daily for these students to have internships. Besides being part of the school-to-career initiative, Medical Careers Magnet students have a challenging academic program of studies which includes Medical Careers, 5 years of science, and SAT prep. Electives offered to them are EMT, Nursing Assistant and Pharmacy Tech. Available to our students are courses for college credit -- courses that include Anatomy and Physiology, Tech Prep Chemistry, and Forensics and Genetics. Students may also take the Advanced Placement in English. Our students are clustered for the first three years and are given individual attention by an excellent staff which includes two medical doctors and one registered nurse. The challenging curriculum and superb staff provides a learning environment in which they can excel, as our recent CAPT scores indicate.
Our Mentoring Program at Saturday Academy provides health career college mentors supervised by MAACS (Mentoring for Academic Achievement and College Success), physician and technician speakers through the Greater Bridgeport Medical Association, education through AHEC (Area Health Education Center), and volunteer training through Youth Health Service Corps. Students in our program participate in state and national competitions as members of HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) and Skills-USA (formerly VICA: Vocational Industrial Club of America). Some of our students carry out diverse activities as members of the Red Cross Club. Eighth-grade students must complete an application by December of the preceding year of entry and participate in an interview, which is usually scheduled for the spring. All accepted students participate in an orientation. Eighth grade students enrolled in a Bridgeport Magnet Schools or the TAG Program that apply to the Medical Careers Magnet are accepted.
