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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — On Wednesday, Mayor Michelle Wu announced a $37.8 million grant for the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers, which will help the school to expand their health career training among other benefits.
The grant comes from Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with Boston Public Schools and Mass General Brigham. The money will be used to help the EMK Academy to double in size and provide new health career pathways in areas like surgery, medical imaging, biotech and medical lab science.
Wu made the announcement on Jan. 17 at the Paul S. Russell Museum of Medical History and Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital alongside Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper, EMK School Leader Dr. Caren Walker Gregory, Mass General Brigham President and CEO Dr. Anne Klibanski, and leaders from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
“EMK graduates will have the choice in front of them to choose between continuing their education in this field or going straight into a good-paying job at Mass General Brigham and serving their community right then and there,” said Wu.
BPS SuperinterndentBPS Superintendent Mary Skipper pointed out the benefits of this grant for the future careers of students. “This exciting partnership allows us to build on the success of the EMK partnership with Mass General Brigham to provide our students with meaningful learning experiences that set them up for a bright future with career opportunities in Boston’s world class medical facilities and beyond,” said Skipper.
One junior at EMK Academy shared their excitement about the new opportunities afforded by the grant. “I’m actually pretty excited for the next generation of EMK students and people like my siblings who I know what to go to EMK,” they said.
A freshman at EMK Academy explained how the grant will help more students than before. “There was a 400 [person] waitlist. Now, those 400 people could join because there’s 800 spots. So that means a lot more people can get their careers, a lot more people can help their families,” they said.
WBZ’s Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports.
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