A key component of the Alliance Piera Barbaglia Shaheen Health Services Academy (PBS-HSA) model is providing opportunities for students to advance knowledge and skills through practical experience, research and service.  These critical opportunities are dependent on the partnership and support of community leaders providing vital health care and education services in and around South Los Angeles.  Click here for a list of some of our current PBS-HSA partners.  We hope that you will consider joining this group of generous partners.  Opportunities for support include:

Guest Speakers: PBS-HSA welcomes a variety of medical and health care professionals who are willing to share information about their educational path, career, challenges in their field and in the health care community, medical science case studies or stories, or other aspects of medicine with our students.  Speakers are requested from a diverse range of medical and allied health professions so as to give students a comprehensive view of the varied fields of study and practice.  Schedule options are available to interested speakers.

Job Shadowing: In the 11^th grade, eachPBS-HSA student will participate in  “job shadowing” experiences to help them learn about different organizations and careers first-hand, and to help them understand how their textbook learning can be applied in the real world.  Health services professionals are needed to act as hosts and provide students the opportunity to shadow them for the day.   Shadowing experiences can be anywhere from 4 hours to 6 hours.  We are looking for a wide variety of health care professionals including, but in no way limited to, doctors, nurses, psychologists, lab technicians, clinical researchers, forensic scientists, physical therapists, radiologists, and veterinarians to act as hosts. 

Internships: In 12th grade, students will engage in service-learning internships that will focus on improving health outcomes in the local community. Mentors within the corporate, non-profit and university systems are being sought to work with the Work-Based Learning Coordinator, course instructor and students to design and implement projects that will address both identified health-related needs within the community and the learning objectives of the students.   

Site Visits/Field Trips: Providing students with the opportunity to visit colleges, universities, and organizations that provide some form of health care services is vital to their learning experience.  Being on a campus or in a professional environment helps make their learning more relevant and the opportunities available to them more tangible.  In order to be feasible in terms of budget and class scheduling, field trips would need to accommodate a full class of 125-150 students, or two visits of 60-75 students each.

Mentors: University students and professionals are needed to serve as mentors toPBS-HSA students.  Mentors assist with planning, implementation and evaluation of health-related student projects, as well as daily lessons and student activities.  Projects focus on human body systems, experimental psychology, mental health and public health.  Mentors work with students on an individual and group basis, providing support and feedback in areas such as planning, organization, problem solving, research and design.  They also serve as an example/role model for students, and help to reinforce the college-going culture at PBS-HSA. Mentors are asked to commit to a minimum of two scheduled visits per month so as to establish consistency with students.

After-School Tutors: After-school volunteer tutors are being sought to help students who are struggling in academic classes including algebra I, biology, medical science, Spanish, and English.   Support for students whose primary language is not English is also needed.  Tutors will work under the direction of the teacher(s) and will be asked to work with students one-on-one or in very small groups.  Patience, enthusiasm and a strong desire to help students realize their potential are critical requirements for all tutors.  Tutors will be asked to designate a specific number of hours and time period during which they are able to work with students. Tutoring is held from 3:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Student Project Support: In addition to tutors and mentors, other professional volunteers are needed to support projects planned for the medical science and biology classes at HSA.  Volunteers will be asked to act as interview subjects and interviewers, provide resources to students, participate in presentation panels, evaluate projects and provide critical feedback during the project’s planning and implementation phases.  Projects will focus on areas such as human body systems, infectious disease, experimental psychology, mental health and public health.

Networking Opportunities: If you know colleagues, associates or friends in the health care field who would be interested in becoming a part of our work, we would be grateful for an introduction.  We are eager to build relationships with individuals and organizations representing all aspects of health care, including hospitals, clinics, universities, health systems, public officials, government agencies, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and nonprofit and community service organizations, to name just a few. 

Program/Activity Sponsorship and Classroom Equipment and Materials Support: As a new school starting in a time of fiscal crisis for the state and city, PBS-HSA’s budget is extremely lean.   Donations of/support for equipment and materials for the classroom, and student training and activities will help to ensure that our students have the tools and opportunities they need to learn most effectively. Areas of need include:  mobile lab station, microscopes, physical assessment kits, prepared slide sets, labware (beakers, flasks, test tubes), lab safety supplies (gloves, goggles, aprons, lab coats), materials for CPR and first aid training, HIPAA training costs, and transportation for field trips and job shadowing experiences.