Washington High School Workplace Simulation Project Kick-off

Washington High School Workplace Simulation Project Kick-off

(Washington, IN) – The Washington High School Workplace Simulation Project (WSP) will kick-off on Wednesday, February 27^th at Daviess Community Hospital in Washington, Indiana. The kickoff will begin a phased implementation designed in partnership with Daviess Community Hospital, DirectEmployers Institute, and the Center for P-16 Research and Collaboration at Indiana University. The WSP will include approximately 40 students from two high school classes: algebra and Project Lead the Way’s Biomedical Science. In this health-care industry-led project, students will be tasked to learn about infectious disease and create a public health communication plan. To do this, teams of participating students will brainstorm creative ideas and develop a master plan to communicate with their own community. The kickoff will include a tour of the hospital emphasizing various career opportunities, a panel discussion with hospital staff, a hands-on activity that emphasizes teamwork and collaboration, and an overview of the workplace simulation project.

In this eight-week long project, industry professionals from Daviess Community Hospital will work alongside the Washington High School students and guide them as both mentors and role models. To incorporate 21^st century employability skills and to model real-world work environments, students will periodically present their work to an audience of Daviess Community Hospital employees.

This WSP was developed by DirectEmployers Institute to increase student interest and awareness in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers with a specific focus on careers in Indiana’s growing health care Industry. This initiative will provide hands-on learning to Washington High School students in an effort to improve STEM learning. This is the first year of the pilot project.

The Washington High School Workplace Simulation Project is funded through a grant from the Smithville Charitable Foundation.

Partner information:

Daviess Community Hospital is located in Washington, Indiana, and is a county-sponsored, non-profit, full-service healthcare system with multiple satellite facilities. Located in Southwest Indiana, DCH is a regional health care network comprised of a 74-bed hospital and several physician practices with more than 50 primary care and specialty medical providers.

DCH offers numerous services including oncology, urology, nephrology, rheumatology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, podiatry, cardiology, wound care, obstetrics, surgery, pediatrics, rehab therapy, athletic training and orthopedics.

DirectEmployers Institute is a nonprofit organization that enables middle and high school students to explore STEM careers with Central Indiana employers. With a focus on serving Central Indiana’s under-served and underrepresented students, the institute’s mission is to inspire and prepare the next generation to meet the needs of a more diverse global workforce. This mission involves bringing simulated workplace environments directly to students in state-of-the-art, project-based STEM Learning Labs and through local workplace learning programs.

The P–16 Center for Research and Collaboration at the Indiana University School of Education was founded in 2006 to facilitate partnerships that lead to improvement in education from pre-kindergarten through postsecondary education (P–16). The overarching goal of the P–16 Center is to improve college access and success, especially for students from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education, by strengthening pre-college preparation and transitions to college. In addition to college access and retention, several of the P–16 Center’s funded projects focus on enhancing mathematics, science, and technology education, which are foundational areas to college success.