“In the new structure of academies, the criminal justice and fire fighting programs naturally fit with the health science program, as one academy,” Principal Lisa Tuttle-Huff said.
Plans for a bio-medical facility on purchased land near I-75 in West Chester Twp. are still in the works, eventually opening more space for programs to expand, she said.
Equine and Veterinary science students also will have a new home next year at the Natural Science Center.
Three classrooms, a multipurpose room, offices and restrooms will be added on to barns at the location to facilitate academics related to natural sciences. Construction will start this summer and is expected to be finished by January 2011. Until then, modular classrooms will be used.
The Natural Science Center opened in 2005 in partnership between Butler Tech and Monroe Local Schools, which received donated land.
“The Vet Science and Equine Science programs have increasingly become popular with a steady rise in enrollment over the last five years,” Tuttle-Huff said.
Students who have attended equine science or veterinary science programs have taken laboratory classes at the Matson Farm, but have been bused to Greentree Health Science Academy for academic classes. So, a standalone campus saves an equivalent of 11 instructional days that would have been lost to travel to D. Russel Lee. “We want to grow this program and double the size of the programs in the near future,” Tuttle-Huff said. “There has been a waiting list for students from associate schools to attend the (Natural Science Center) equine and veterinary science programs.”
Wherever students are located, Tuttle-Huff said the learning will be “cutting edge” with online blended instruction.
“Students never question if content will be on the test, because they see the relationship between the academic principle and its application and understand its importance,” she said.
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