One Michigan school’s online pathway program seeing spike in enrollment

MANISTEE, Mich. –  The COVID–19 Pandemic has caused many hospital beds to be full and facilities to be over capacity- even causing stress amongst medical staff, but the good news is that teenagers are being inspired.

High school teachers at schools like Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy, who lead nursing and healthcare–focused career education programs, are seeing a spike in interest as a result of the pandemic.

The staff there are hopeful that these students will meet the need for skilled medical workers in the future.

The virtual academy is an all–online public school serving students across the state. It offers a healthcare career “pathway” where students take classes in their chosen field and can earn certifications before graduating.

Teachers in the program said their focus isn’t just on nursing; the pathway platform is an extremely versatile program for all students.

“Be it a career tech program at a high school, we have students who are not only interested in nursing, but there’s pharmacy, there’s being a doctor, it’s a program for all students that are interested in anything medicine,” said MGLVA Health Science Instructor AJ Krey.

Krey said the healthcare career pathway program has seen a slight spike in enrollment due to experiences many students have had this past year.

“Definitely, for sure, having some students who’ve had a family member go through COVID or they themselves have had COVID, so that has had an impact on them,” said Krey.

The school does provide a hands–on component to the program. Krey said he’s hoping that in the next coming months the school can get back to some normalcy with that portion.

For more information about Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy’s healthcare career pathway option, you can visit mglva.k12.com.