{"id":276345,"date":"2026-05-19T09:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T09:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/276345\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T09:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T09:44:08","slug":"new-health-science-high-school-to-open-in-miami-in-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/276345\/","title":{"rendered":"New health science high school to open in Miami in 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Carlos<\/p>\n

Carlos Migoya (bottom left), CEO of Jackson Health System, and Madeline Pumariega (bottom right), president of Miami Dade College, sign a memorandum of understanding to establish a health science charter high school in Miami’s Health District during a press conference at the MDC Medical Campus on Monday, May 18, 2026, in Miami.<\/p>\n

Photo by Marra X. Finkelstein<\/p>\n

mfinkelstein@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n

In an effort to address South Florida\u2019s growing shortage of healthcare workers, Miami Dade College and Jackson Health System signed a binding agreement Monday to launch a new high school aimed at preparing students for careers in medicine and healthcare.<\/p>\n

Set to open in August 2027 in Miami\u2019s Health District, the Health Science Collegiate Academy will create a direct pathway for students interested in nursing, healthcare administration, allied health and other high-demand medical fields.<\/p>\n

David Zambrana, president and chief operating officer of the Jackson Health System, said the partnership is designed to help students who are \u201cbitten by the healthcare bug\u201d begin pursuing careers in the industry at an early age.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot think of a better way of ensuring a pipeline for healthcare into perpetuity in the future,\u201d Zambrana said. \u201cI wish an opportunity like this existed when I was starting high school.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea for the program grew out of a 2021 roundtable discussion at MDC\u2019s medical campus focused on addressing the nursing shortage. Since then, MDC has expanded its nursing program through its offerings, while also looking for ways to introduce students to healthcare careers earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that talent is universal, opportunity is not,\u201d said Madeline Pumariega, president of MDC. \u201cThis program is about creating opportunities for our students \u2014 and not only for our students, but most importantly, for our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Madeline Madeline Pumariega (right), president of Miami Dade College, speaks beside Carlos Migoya, CEO of Jackson Health System, during a press conference at the MDC Medical Campus on Monday, May 18, 2026, in Miami. Photo by Marra X. Finkelstein mfinkelstein@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

The school will begin with a freshman class of about 75 students, with plans to grow the program to approximately 200 students per graduating class in the future.<\/p>\n

Students will be able to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate of arts degree. Pumariega said students with their associate\u2019s degree, and certificates they can earn in school, can immediately enter the healthcare workforce.<\/p>\n

The high school will be housed on MDC\u2019s medical campus near Jackson until 2029, when a workforce housing development under construction at Northwest 12th Avenue and 15th Street is expected to open, with part of the building designated for the school.<\/p>\n

Carlos Migoya, CEO of Jackson Health System, said the academy could \u201ccreate a living classroom unlike any other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will be able to connect learning to real-world purposes and imagine themselves walking our halls as the next generation of caregivers, scientists, technology experts and leaders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Applications are not yet available online, but interested applicants can sign up online<\/a> to receive updates on important announcements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carlos Migoya (bottom left), CEO of Jackson Health System, and Madeline Pumariega (bottom right), president of Miami Dade…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276346,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-276345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}