Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School
Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School
 | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
|
9105 NE 9th ST Vancouver, Washington United States | |
| Coordinates | 45°37′38″N 122°34′46″W / 45.6273°N 122.5794°WCoordinates: 45°37′38″N 122°34′46″W / 45.6273°N 122.5794°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Secondary |
| Motto | Rise Above |
| Established | 2013 |
| School district | Evergreen School District |
| Principal | Julie Tumelty |
| Grades | 9 - 12 |
| Color(s) | Blue & Grey |
| Mascot | Phoenix |
| Website | https://www.helacell.org |
Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School, commonly known as "Hela High", is a high school located in Vancouver, Washington. It is the most recent high school built in the Evergreen Public Schools, and one of six high schools in the district. The school's colors are light Blue, dark blue and Grey. The schools mascot is the Phoenix. The schools principal is Julie Tumelty. The school has 35 staff members.
History
Opened in 2013, HeLa was the sixth high school built in the Evergreen Public Schools after Union High School opened in 2007. Construction began in 2011, Major funding for the Construction of the school came from PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center as well as numerous other hospitals, clinics and research facilities in Vancouver and Portland. The school was named after Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman who was the unwitting source of cells (from her cancerous tumor) which were cultured to create the first known human immortal cell line for medical research.
Academic Programs
HeLa High offers students a full high school curriculum with a focus on medical careers. Students will choose from five program areas, and will participate in job shadows and internships during their junior and senior year.
The five programs of study are:
- Nursing and Patient Services
- Health Informatics
- Biomedical Engineering
- Pharmacology
- Biotechnology
Students will be enrolled in a rigorous curriculum that includes all of the basic core classes, math, science, English, and history, as well as their specific science electives. Many classes offered at HeLa are not offered at a traditional high school. HeLa also offers a variety of other electives including music, digital arts, world languages and leadership. HeLa High will run an advocacy program called Helix, The program will focus on student achievement, college and career goals and advisory capstone research projects. Through this program, and the small school atmosphere, and students will be well known by school staff.
Clubs and Extra-Curricular Activities
HeLa has many clubs and extra-curricular actives offered to students, including
- Spanish Club
- Key Club
- Honor Society
- HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America)
- Writing Club
- Christian Club
- Running Club
- Red Cross Club
Athletics
The opportunity to participate in athletics is a privilege granted to all eligible students at HeLa High School who maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 and also maintain passing grades in 6 of 7 classes. HeLa High School Students will be allowed to participate in athletics at their neighborhood schools.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policy
Evergreen Public Schools have recently adopted a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. This policy will allow students to bring many of their own technology devices to school for use in our classrooms. They will now be incorporating the use of such items as laptops, tablets, netbooks and cell phones with browsing capabilities for educational purposes only.