It has been a busy spring for Baylor College of Medicine affiliated schools, with events that underscore the important partnerships between the College and public schools in Houston and beyond designed to spark interest in health and science careers.

These magnet schools offer STEM and health professions curriculum developed with Baylor’s Center for Education Outreach, led by Dr. Nancy Moreno, chair of the Huffington Department of Education, Innovation & Technology and director of the Center for Educational Outreach.

Keep reading for highlights from this spring’s events.

Houston middle school showcases

On May 7, Baylor CEO, President and Executive Dean Dr. Paul Klotman visited the Baylor College of Medicine Biotech Academy at Rusk. Klotman met with middle school students in the robotics club, gardening club and HOSA who showed off their robots, growing vegetables and poster boards of different careers in the medical field.

Also at Rusk, students in HOSA, a club for future health professionals, participated in the HOSA State Conference in Round Rock. They spent the school year preparing for the event, along with club sponsors, dedicating hours to projects, as well as studying for class and doing homework.

Thirty-seven students received awards, and 20 of those students will attend the International Leadership Conference in Nashville this summer.

On April 30, Klotman visited James D. Ryan Academy at Ryan Middle School, where he spoke to eighth grade students about their transition to high school from middle school and participated in round table discussions with students on STEM topics.

STEM+M Academy at Cunningham Middle School at South Park – Corpus Christi

A White Coat Ceremony was held April 24 for the inaugural class of students at the STEM+M Academy at Cunningham Middle School at South Park in Corpus Christi, Baylor’s newest partner school.

Community member Gloria Hicks secured support for the coats from the Rachal Foundation and the Port of Corpus Christi. She participated in the ceremony along with the superintendent of schools, Dr. Roland Hernandez, and Dr. Moreno and Dr. Matthew Blank, assistant professor in the Center for Educational Outreach, from Baylor.

Cunningham Middle School is part of a new elementary-through-high school pathway that also includes Gloria Hicks Elementary School and Foy H. Moody High School in Corpus Christi. This new pathway builds on a health professions pathway program at Moody High School that Baylor helped establish in 1990.

Stafford open house

Baylor welcomed a small group of students from one of its newer partner schools, the Stafford STEM Magnet Academy, for a campus visit May 20.

The high school students enjoyed a half-day of informative and interactive sessions, including brief talks by Moreno and Dr. Stacey Rose, associate professor of medicine, who spoke about the importance of education, and a presentation by Dr. Nathan Jones, nurse and assistant professor of anesthesiology, on the nurse anesthesia field.

They also attended a hands-on session in the simulation lab and participated in an interview session with Dr. Jason Mills for Baylor’s Ask Me About My Research video series.

By Dana Benson