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Principal's Message

 

Dear Students, Parents, Guardians and Community Members,

The staff at Sylmar Biotech Health & Engineering Magnet (formerly Sylmar Biotech Health Academy) is honored to serve the Sylmar area and the surrounding communities. We are committed to providing students with a quality education and an avenue to careers that allow for a high quality of life. Our goal is to make every student feel important and supported, so they gain the confidence to assert themselves as scholars, ready and able to accept any challenges.

Sylmar Biotech Health & Engineering Magnet is unique because we are a small school model that is a Gold Certified Linked Learning School and a Magnet. We emphasize the importance of a college education and are proud of our Career Technical Education (CTE) program. Our students enroll in A-G courses along with our Linked Learning pathway classes in biotechnology, health and engineering.

As a small school, Sylmar Biotech Health & Engineering Magnet is able to provide individualized attention to our students. As such, they have many resources and outstanding opportunities, some of which include:

  • Four years of biotech, health & engineering themed classes
  • Mentorships and internships
  • Field trips and guest speakers
  • Summer bridge program for incoming freshmen
  • Individualized college counseling
  • Tuition-free classes from LA Mission College
  • Project Based Learning
  • 1:1 Chromebooks
  • EduCare after school program
  • Gear Up college program
  • State of the art medical and engineering labs

Additionally, our school has several grants that have allowed us to create strong partnership with LA Mission College, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, and Abbot Laboratories. Our students have been able to get summer internships, volunteer opportunities, dual enrollment college classes, receive the Health Occupations Fundamentals Certificate, participate in the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program, and go on college and career related field trips. Furthermore, our committed teachers have been able to participate in Advanced Placement training, Project Lead the Way (PLTW) training and attend workshops for their continued professional growth to provide relevant and innovative curriculum for our students. Additionally, these grants allowed us to provide a new medical simulation lab and engineering lab for our students. This gives our students access to have more real world experience as they complete their biotechnology, health and engineering coursework.

I would also like to share that this summer our engineering team traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts to present their InvenTeam invention at MIT! They were invited after being selected as one of 10 schools in the nation awarded a Lemelson-MIT Grant! Through our GEAR UP program, our students also went on college tours to the East Coast. Other opportunities our students were able to take advantage of  were summer internships in programs through Abbot Laboratories and Turner-UCLA Allied Health. Finally, I would like to share that our incoming 9th graders participated in our Summer Bridge program and were able to complete their first PBL project! At Sylmar Biotech Health and Engineering Magnet we strongly believe in giving our students access to programs that will help them grow and provide positive experiences.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you would like more information about Sylmar Biotech Health & Engineering Magnet. I look forward to working with you as we serve the educational needs of our community.

With respect,

Maria E. Herrera, Principal
Sylmar Biotech Health & Engineering Magnet