Texas GEAR UP in Action: Health Science Academy

When the folks at IDEA Public Schools GEAR UP started hearing that students were wanting to leave to attend more health and science-oriented institutions, they knew they had to come up with an inventive solution or risk losing them all together—and thus was born the grant's annual Health Science Academy. The engaging course opens students up to a world of health science career options they never knew existed, while blending classroom instruction with hands-on labs and real-world experiences. Working with local hospitals and universities, the deeply immersive program has proven to be so successful that IDEA GEAR UP has had to create a waiting list for students who want to sign up. But as the old saying goes, "Good things come to those who wait." And it sounds like the students at IDEA Public Schools couldn't agree more.