The New Haven Public Schools and Yale have formally established an educational partnership to benefit and enrich the opportunities for all students to further develop their human potential.
This educational partnership builds on and expands work initiated in recent years between the Schools of Medicine and Nursing and Career High School, which in 1998 will open a new regional facility on the Route 34 connector near the Yale medical complex. The high school offers concentrations in allied health, business and computing.
"In creating this partnership," says Reginald Mayo, New Haven's superintendent of schools, "we recognize our common interests and shared educational responsibilities to our students, and today join together to form one intergenerational community of learners."
"As neighbors, we have much to offer each other and much we can do together to promote the vitality of the City of New Haven, our common home," says Linda K. Lorimer, vice president and University secretary. "This educational partnership, centered at our medical and nursing schools, is consistent with Yale's expanding programs and its focus on partnerships with the New Haven public schools."
For the past two years, J.G. Collins, professor of anesthesiology, has coordinated an effort to identify ways to share University resources with the school's faculty as they revise their curriculum. Under the direction of Charles Williams, the high school's principal, the Career faculty have met frequently with Professor Collins and Claudia R. Merson, partnership coordinator, to establish links to appropriate University educational resources. These have included an innovative human anatomy laboratory conducted at the medical school since 1993.
"The partnership was designed to encourage more contact and informal communication between the students and staff at Career with medical and nursing students and faculty," says Ms. Merson.
During the past two months, Career teachers, students and the librarian have received training from the librarians and staff at the John Hay Whitney Medical Library on use of the Internet and other electronic information reference tools. The library training program will continue next year, and Career faculty now have full borrowing privileges at the medical library.
Career students can also learn about a variety of career options through participation in a medical careers course at the high school and internships at the medical and nursing schools. Yale medical faculty and postdoctoral fellows will also lecture at the high school on career options and paths. "We hope that this partnership will enhance opportunities for graduates of Career to play important roles in future health care development and research," Professor Collins says.
In addition, the Yale Medical Shuttle will expand its route to include regular stops at the new Career High School, and members of the Schools of Medicine and Nursing who participate in this educational partnership will have access to the swimming pool and other sports and recreation facilities in the new regional high school.
"The medical school has long played an active role in the New Haven community with numerous volunteer programs," says Dr. Gerard N. Burrow, dean of the medical school. "We are delighted to enter into a real partnership with Career High School in which the students and faculty in both institutions will benefit. This partnership enhances public education in our community, and comes at a time when the United States continues to place great emphasis on science and math curricula for young people who live in our global world."
School of Nursing Dean Judith B. Krauss adds, "We are excited about the opportunity to introduce Career students and faculty to the role of nursing in health care, but more importantly, we are drawn to the partnership as neighbors who together with our colleagues at Career can do much to improve health care and health-care education in New Haven."