This school year is the first year that the Human Body Systems course has been offered at Oakville and Mehlville, and the second year for Principles of Biomedical Science. The classes are quite popular, especially for students who are wanting to enter the medical field. They are unlike other classes here at Oakville; they are more independent and very interactive. Students are always doing labs and activities.

Just recently, Oakville and Mehlville were accredited by Project Lead The Way (PLTW).

“Being accredited allows students to receive college credit for the biomed classes that they take from certain universities and colleges”, says Human Body Systems teacher Sarah Guenther.

The accreditation process is a long one that begins with the district adopting the program, then sending teachers to training over the summer so they are able to teach the course, and after two years of the curriculum being taught the PLTW team observes the district to see if it has reached all the requirements to receive accreditation.

Guenther explains how she hopes that the district eventually adopts it at an elementary level so that students will be able to make a better decision about what they would like to do in the medical field, or if they would even like to be in the medical field.

“Other countries have been doing this for years…we need to get our country on-board,” said Guenther.

Next school year, the district will be adopting the next course in the program, Medical Interventions, which will be taught by Dr. Christine Mehigh.