A little over 10 years ago, Baylor College of Medicine and Houston Independent School District partnered to turn a fledgling, but historic, Third Ward middle school into a health and biomedical sciences magnet school.

Today, the Baylor College of Medicine Academy at James. D. Ryan is a Nationally Certified Demonstration Magnet School, designated by Magnet Schools of America.

Students, parents, alumni and alumni parents, school and district leaders and Baylor College of Medicine faculty and staff celebrated the accomplishment at a ceremony Jan. 26, culminating with the unveiling of the Nationally Certified Demonstration Magnet School banner that will hang outside the school.

The school was poised to close in 2013 due to low enrollment when Baylor and HISD partnered, and Ryan joined Baylor’s network of “pipeline” schools designed to develop interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields and feed the next generation of healthcare professionals.

“The campus was an ambitious idea 11 years ago to help address the documented shortage of health professionals in Texas,” said Dr. Nancy Moreno, professor and chair of the Department of Education, Innovation & Technology at Baylor and director of the Center for Educational Outreach that leads the College’s pipeline programs. “This recognition brings the vision to life for all of us, and here we are today celebrating a decade of exemplary accomplishment.”

The school provides a rigorous project-based, hands-on curriculum in the health sciences and medicine, as well as other disciplines, including an impressive choice of electives. Students can earn high school credits, explore academic and career pathways in health and biomedical science and become ready for challenging high school programs.

Nationally certified magnet schools serve as leading examples of magnet schools and provide outstanding learning opportunities for their students. Schools are assessed on the Magnet School Standards of Excellence and the five pillars of magnet schools – diversity, innovative curriculum and professional development, academic excellence, leadership, and family and community partnerships. Nationally Certified Demonstration School is the highest level of certificate from the national nonprofit professional education association. Ryan middle school is the only Demonstration School in HISD, and one of only four in Texas.

The school’s success was made apparent through students and former students who spoke at the recognition ceremony. Eighth grader Saana Khodr described an interactive project where she and her classmates built a model of a liposome for the delivery of lung cancer treatment, talked about her plans to become a neurosurgeon – or just a “regular surgeon” – and enthused about her favorite elective, gardening. Hillary Jasso, a former student, went on to attend the Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, another Baylor-HISD partner pipeline school, and said both schools have set her up for future success.

The school’s contribution to the Third Ward community also is important. An open-enrollment school with no testing requirements for admittance, the school is a pillar of the community, said PTO president and local resident Nazim Ansari.

“The school really wraps its arms around our children because everyone here wants them to succeed,” Ansari said.

Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan recently was featured on Good Morning America’s Doctors of Tomorrow segment. Host Dr. Darien Sutton visited the school to talk with students and others, and emphasized the importance of the opportunities the school offers to students of color. Watch the segment here.

By Dana Benson