Our Academy was launched in 2018 through a one-of-a-kind partnership between Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) and The George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) to address a critical skills and workforce gap in health care and health sciences. Together, ACPS and GW have developed a dual-enrollment partnership that allows students to start a career pathway in health care and earn college credits in high school.
Now wrapping up our third year, the Academy has nearly 300 students enrolled with another cohort of approximately 90 rising 9th and 10th graders joining us in the 2021-22 academic year! We are excited that our first cohort will be seniors this fall! The new academic year also brings administrative changes. I am moving into a new position as the GW Director for the Academy, following in the footsteps of my incredible colleagues at GW: Linda Zanin and Catherine Golden, who provided early leadership from the university. I am pleased to say that both Linda and Catherine will remain involved through our Academy Advisory Board.
As I reflect on the last year, I realize COVID-19 presented many challenges to our students, their families, and our broad GW and ACPS communities. The pandemic significantly impacted our lives and required incredible resilience, flexibility, and compassion. In spite of the many changes and challenges, our Academy community has never been stronger. Our team of educators and community members worked together to ensure our students continued to receive an excellent education and our students’ persistence in the face of unprecedented challenges inspired us every day.
We hope you enjoy this latest issue of our newsletter -- we’re excited to highlight members of our Academy community, celebrate the achievements of our students, and spotlight the new Community Medi-Corps Program.
If you have any comments or ideas for articles, please contact me at pcorr@gwu.edu.
Go Academy Titans and Raise High GW Colonials!
Patrick Corr, Ed.D.