Piedmont schools using grant for medical program for students

Educators in Piedmont are using a $99,000 state grant to initiate a program to give students a chance to earn certification as nursing assistants before they earn high school diplomas.  Students will be able to start the program, called Piedmont’s Health Science iWork Academy, this fall.  Students who sign up for the academy will have the chance to work as interns at local doctors’ offices.  Students can enroll in the program beginning in the ninth grade, and they can take one medical class per year up until the 11th grade. At that point, they will also be given the opportunity to become certified nursing assistants.  In their senior year, students can sign up to be interns at doctors’ offices as well as enroll in medical-related college courses. The school system consulted Jacksonville State University, Gadsden State Community College, Regional Medical Center and area physicians when it began developing new program. The grant comes from the 21st Century Workforce Act, approved by the Legislature in 2013, through which provides $50 million in grants to support career technical programs across the state. Piedmont’s grant will pay for supplies needed to start the program. Other funding sources will pay the salary of a registered nurse who will be hired to teach the course, because the grant can’t be used for that person’s salary.