FOCUS ON THE FUTURE!

Career Pathways prepares
students with valuable life skills

The latest instructional “buzz words” focus on preparing our students to be “Career and College Ready.”

Well, Monroe High School (MHS) has taken that mantra to a whole new and exciting level with its Career Pathways curriculum.

When parents and students are making that critical decision on where to attend
high school, many are selecting MHS because of a vast array of academic and career choices.

“We are as close to a career tech center than anywhere else in Monroe County,”
says Leah Morelli, who leads the Health Sciences career pathway – one of six different instructional options offered to students and parents at MHS. 

“When students are in high school,” Morelli explains, “they need the opportunity
to explore different fields of study.  Once they find something that interests them, their grades go up because they become more focused on learning something that they can apply in everyday life.”

Morelli, who has earned Basis Life Support (BLS) certification through the American Heart Association, is a strong believer in preparing students with the academic and life skills that employers need – and expect – from potential job applicants.

“When Monroe students leave our program, they are very employable,” Morelli says. “Our job, as teachers, is to get our students ready to make important career and college decisions, and then give them the skills to accomplish their goals for the future. I think we’re pretty good at doing that.”

The six Career Pathways are as follows:

1. Arts & Communications:  Careers related to the humanities, along with the performing, visual, literacy and media arts.

2. Business, Management, Marketing & Technology: Careers related to all aspect of business, including accounting, business administration, finance, information processing and technology.

3. Engineering, Manufacturing & Industrial Technology: Careers related technologies to design, build, develop, install or maintain mechanical systems

4. Human Services: Careers related to child care, civil service, education, hospitality and the social services.

5. Natural Resources & Agriscience:  Careers related to natural sciences, agriculture and the environment.

6. Health Sciences:  Careers related to the promotion of health care, as well as treatments of injuries, conditions and disease.

The Health Sciences career pathway is one of the most popular instructional choices at Monroe High School. The health-care industry is one of the fastest growing and emerging business sectors in the state of Michigan.  There is huge demand for highly-skilled and educated labor.  Students can get good paying jobs and careers in this industry.

 “We study all kinds of career opportunities in health care, not just doctors and nurses. That’s why it’s important for our students to explore all their choices,” says Health Sciences teacher Leah Morelli. “Health Care is such a broad industry.
Our Health Science pathway gives our students the time and guidance to explore the vast numbers of careers offered in
this field – everything from emergency medical services, paramedic services, laboratory services and medical imaging.”

Employers are looking for responsible, highly-skilled people who can develop and succeed in careers such as Pharmacists, Chiropractors, Physician Assistants, Veterinarians, Biomedical Engineers, Medical/Health Service Managers, Paramedics, Physical and Occupational Therapists, Biological/Medical Scientists, Registered Nurses, Sonographers, Nuclear Medicine Technologists, Medical Technicians and Dental Assistants.

In addition to taking and passing the state-mandated core graduation classes in English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Foreign Language, the Health Sciences career pathway elective classes feature:

• Interpersonal Skills training, focused on a specific career
• On-site training, thanks to a long-standing business partnership with ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital, and
• Capstone training (as seniors) when students must build a “Professional Portfolio” in a specific health-care function

“We focus on the things that students need to be prepared to enter and succeed in the health-care industry,” Morelli says. “When our Monroe students graduate from high school,
they are prepared to earn anywhere from $11-14 per hour in an entry-level position.”

Parents really appreciate that Monroe teachers emphasize “career preparation” because
it gives many choices, flexibility and opportunities to Monroe students. For example:

1.  College/University-bound students can earn some extra money by working in an entry-level health-care job that interests them.

2. Vocational students can earn some extra money by working in an
entry-level position, while they are earning certification in a specific health-care function

3. Students not interested in post-secondary education can begin a career at the
entry-level position and learn new skills as they work their way up through a
health-care organization, hospital building or medical facility

Morelli is especially proud of the interpersonal skills curriculum for Health Science career pathway students.  English, Mathematics and Science classes use
“health care applications” when teaching skills such as Teamwork, Communications, Legal/Ethical issues, and Writing/Presentation skills.

“We put students in ‘scenarios’ where they learn to succeed in taking care of patients
in all types of health-care applications and functions, such as infection control, first aid or CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation),” Morelli says.

  “And we understand that students are just exploring different areas of interest in high school.  So, we make sure that the skills they are learning in any of our career pathway courses are transferrable to other careers and to life, in general.”

Morelli has been teaching Health Sciences career pathway for seven years. She gets a lot of ‘”job satisfaction” when she witnesses the SUCCESS of her students after graduating from Monroe High School.

“It’s just awesome to see so many of my students succeeding at the ProMedica regional hospital,” Morelli said. “It’s very rewarding for me to see our students succeed in a real-world career.  I love it. I get to see all our hard work truly pay off.”

For more information on how to explore which career pathway is good for you, please email Leah Morelli at morellil@monroe.k12.mi.us.