Miami-Dade students interested in healthcare careers will soon have a new academic option in the heart of Miami’s medical district.

Miami Dade College and Jackson Health System have entered into a binding agreement to create the Health Sciences Collegiate Academy, a new charter high school focused on preparing students for careers in medicine and healthcare.

The school is expected to open in August 2027 and will be located in Miami’s Health District, near Jackson’s hospital campus and MDC’s Medical Campus.

The initiative comes as South Florida continues to face demand for healthcare workers across multiple fields. The academy is intended to expose students to medical career tracks earlier, while creating a stronger workforce pipeline for hospitals, clinics and healthcare employers in the region. Targeted areas of study will include nursing, healthcare administration, allied health and other high-demand medical professions.

The school will launch with an initial freshman class of about 75 students, with plans to eventually expand to roughly 200 students per graduating class. Students will have the opportunity to complete high school while also earning an associate of arts degree, along with industry-related certificates that could allow them to move directly into the healthcare workforce after graduation.

The concept traces back to discussions held in 2021 at MDC’s Medical Campus about how to address the nursing shortage. Since then, Miami Dade College has continued expanding its nursing and healthcare education programs while looking for ways to introduce younger students to medical careers before college.

For its first years, the academy will operate from MDC’s Medical Campus. In 2029, it is expected to move into space within a workforce housing development now under construction at Northwest 12th Avenue and 15th Street, where part of the building is planned for the school.

The partnership also positions students to learn in close proximity to one of the region’s largest public health systems. Jackson leaders described the model as a way to connect classroom instruction with real-world healthcare environments and help students see themselves as future caregivers, scientists, technology specialists and healthcare leaders.

Applications are not yet open, but interested students and families can sign up through Miami Dade College to receive future updates.

Source:  Miami Herald