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| Vol. 21, No. 23 |
| December 15, 1999 |
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November 1997 Twenty-five years ago, Baylor College of Medicine and the Houston Independent School District (HISD) embarked on a venture that was the first of its kind - the High School for Health Professions. Forty-five students attended the first year. Now, with a new namesake and an enrollment of 755, the Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions (DHSHP) has come a long way since its beginning in a small classroom at Baylor. "We could never have guessed from the initial partnership in 1972 how the DeBakey High School for Health Professions would evolve," says Dr. Ralph D. Feigin, Baylor president and CEO. "Without a doubt, the school is a national role model." In 1972, studies showed that Texas suffered from a shortage of more than 5,000 doctors and needed an additional 52,000 health care professionals. With the support of leaders in Baylor's department of community medicine, Dr. DeBakey pursued the idea of creating a program to alleviate this shortage. On October 2 of that year, the world's first specialized high school operated jointly by a medical school and a large urban school district opened. The partnership's goal was to encourage Houston's youth, especially minority students, to seek careers in health care. Led by five teachers, the charter students started what would become a model for academic excellence. A year later the classes moved to seven small temporary buildings provided by the Texas Medical Center. The school remained at this location, commonly called `The Shacks,' for seven years. In 1980, DHSHP moved to its present location, one mile from the Texas Medical Center. The facility, which can house more than 700 students and 50 faculty, was named after Dr. DeBakey, Baylor's chancellor emeritus, in 1996. "Watching the high school develop has been a great source of gratification. The decision to give the school my name touched me more than any other honor I have ever received," Dr. DeBakey says. DHSHP graduated its first class of 32 students in 1975. In 1997, 140 students graduated, bringing the total to more than 3,500 alumni in its first 25 years. Ninety-five percent of these graduates have gone to college and more than 100 have become physicians. Recognized by the Texas Education Agency as an exemplary school, DHSHP has been a model for other magnet programs. In Texas alone, there are three Baylor-affiliated programs in Rio Grande Valley school districts. In 1996, DHSHP, in collaboration with the University of Houston and Baylor College of Medicine, began the Houston Premedical Academy. The program accepts up to 10 graduating seniors each year for a comprehensive eight-year program offering conditional acceptance to Baylor upon successful completion of a degree at UH. "We have not scratched the surface of how successful this school can be," says Charlesetta Collins, DHSHP principal. "It is our constant challenge to take the school to a higher level." - KATHY MAJOR
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