Opelika City Schools : Health Sciences at Opelika High School

Part 3 of 4: Health Sciences

At the beginning of this school year, 2014-2015, Opelika High School was able to offer two Health Science courses that we had not been able to offer in previous years: Sports Medicine and Introduction to Pharmacy. While it might seem easy to add different courses to the master schedule that our students are interested in or that relate well to our community, it is not. Many decisions had to be made well before the start of the school year to prepare our school, students, and faculty for this change. The first phase of this came when Opelika City Schools Superintendent, Dr. Mark Neighbors, appropriated another teaching unit to Opelika High School so that an additional Health Sciences teacher could be brought on board to help teach some of the new courses as well as the foundations course that prepares students for the more rigorous courses. We then applied for and were awarded a grant from the Alabama State Department of Education to help pay for the new equipment needed for this expansion. Thankfully, we had a Career and Technical Education Department Head, Tiffany Yelder, and an amazing Health Sciences teacher, Leigh Kemp, that made this process very manageable. Finally, after many interviews Opelika High School Principal Dr. Farrell Seymore was able to find the right person for this new position, and he hired Natalie Downs. All this happened prior to any student stepping foot into one of the new courses we were offering. However, we knew we were on the right path after spring registration took place and we had over 120 students interested in the new courses as well as the Health Sciences program in general.

Since the beginning of this school year, it has been a pleasure to walk into the rooms of our two Health Science teachers and see them engaging students in conversations and activities that were designed to allow them to think about the many different aspects of careers in the healthcare industry. Both Ms. Kemp and Ms. Downs have also had many wonderful guest speakers from Veterinarians to Pharmacy Technicians come to their classes and talk to students about the different aspects of their jobs.

I have also had the opportunity to speak with Leigh and Natalie about the things they are having students participate in throughout the community and the ways in which they are seeking to continue growing the Health Sciences Program at Opelika High School. The number of community events our students have become involved in is a great testament to their teachers’ determination to expose them to more than just the classroom. Opelika students volunteer at EAMC, the Community Emergency Response Team, Blood drives, Auburn University football games, along with awareness and philanthropic campaigns throughout the community. All this while still teaching and preparing students to compete in local, state, and national competitions through HOSA.

If you live in Opelika, I am pretty sure you have noticed that the healthcare industry is a valuable part of our community. At Opelika High School, we strive to provide students with the opportunity to leave high school with the knowledge and skills to become a valued member of our community.