Forest Hills — Guided by student interests and input, Forest Hills will expand opportunities to explore careers in health care and STEM through two new courses, partnering with Ferris State University and Western Michigan University.
Next fall, the district will offer a new Health Careers Academy at Central High School and an Advance Placement Capstone Diploma STEM program at Northern High School. Students have until March 13 to register for these programs.
Jon Gregory, Forest Hills director of secondary instructional services, said the district has been listening to students regarding health-focused careers.
“We had over 60 students from Forest Hills on the waitlist for Health Sciences programs at Kent Career Tech Center,” Gregory said. “When Kent ISD reached out with the opportunity to partner with them and Ferris State University, we thought it was a great idea.”
The AP Capstone Diploma STEM program builds on Northern’s existing science, technology, engineering and math curriculum, providing more hands-on experiences and opportunities to work with experts, said Northern High Principal Heather McKinney-Rewa.
Scrubs, Skills & Saving Lives
Central High Principal Jonathan Haga said interest in the Health Careers Academy has been high, with more than 70 families attending a February open house and early registration showing strong enrollment numbers.
The district recognized student interest in health-related careers through its partnership this school year with Ferris to offer a health career program, currently housed at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center.
Building off that program, the Health Careers Academy will be a two-hour block with students dual enrolled at Ferris.
The Health Careers Academy will be open to students entering 11th and 12th grades in 2026-27. Beginning the following year, the program will be limited to students entering 11th grade, as it is designed to span two years, Haga said.
Students will earn certifications, up to 12 credits from Ferris and a $1,000 scholarship.
“We hope this is a benefit for families, especially students considering a health career, in discovering what they want to do in the medical field,” he said. The field has an array of opportunities from certified nursing assistant to doctors specializing in fields such as oncology and cardiology.
Juniors will be required to take AP Research or AP Human Anatomy and Physiology. They will spend two days in classes led by Ferris instructors, and one day engaging in health career exploration such as career chats and earning certifications such as CNA.
Seniors will explore the health care field through hybrid models along with attending Ferris classes, engaging in health career exploration through clinical internships, job shadowing and completing a senior project.
“A senior project could be if we have a student who is interested in physical therapy or something along those lines, they’d have the ability to be a student trainer and work alongside our athletic trainers at events, and that would count as their class,” Haga explained. “So it’s kind of a unique combination of work experience alongside career connections, as well as (career and technical education.)”
He said the goal is to help students explore the different avenues in the health field while offering pathways for those who plan to enter the workforce after high school as well as those pursuing college.
Innovators in the Making
Northern High’s well-known STEM Academy will transition into the AP Capstone Diploma STEM program for next year’s 9th- and 10th-graders. Incoming 11th- and 12th-graders will continue on the existing STEM pathway.
The four-year program aims to develop research, analysis, evidence-based argument and presentation skills through two year-long courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. Those who complete the program earn the College Board’s AP Capstone Diploma and 21 dual enrollment credits through Western Michigan University, McKinney-Rewa said.
McKinney-Rewa said the opportunity to partner with WMU arose during a discussion about the Chinese immersion program, which is also housed at Northern High School.
“Whether they plan on going into something that is industry direct, like an industrial technologist, or whether they are thinking about doing technology or whether they want to be a full-blown engineer, any of the stuff that we are talking about tonight is gonna help them develop those critical thinking skills and give them the edge,” said STEM teacher Eric Baird to a packed February orientation about the program in the school’s library.
The STEM program will be offered as a three-hour block. During their freshman year, students will attend Northern High and take geometry, environmental science, chemistry and a technical writing class that will transfer for credit to WMU.
Beginning in their sophomore year, students will spend two days a week for two hours at WMU’s downtown campus, using labs for CAD and other programs.
Also during the four years, students will complete AP Research, AP Physics, AP Precalculus, AP Chemistry and AP Biology, which will meet the AP Capstone Diploma’s requirement of a minimum of four additional AP courses, said counselor Kyle Perkins. He added that students will take AP Seminar at their home school — students are required to do so their sophomore year — as well as any other desired AP courses.
“What’s special about this program is that we are creating a pathway where students are taking a majority of math and science courses and have the dual enrollment option,” McKinney-Rewa said.
Students may sign up for Northern’s STEM program as incoming freshmen. Those who complete the course and choose to attend WMU will receive a $2,500 scholarship, renewable each year.
The district will offer in-district busing for both the Health Careers Academy and Northern’s STEM program. The district also will provide transportation to the WMU downtown campus.
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