The Grafton High School HSTA Advisor; Brandi Ammons prepares students for the Annual Spring Symposium.The Grafton High School Field Site Coordinator; Crystal Bays encourages the freshman students.

Grafton High School participates in the Health Science and Technology Academy

(HSTA) of West Virginia University, which is available for qualified students in the 9th through 12th grade. West Virginia University (WVU) “Has established a seamless approach to health sciences education.”

The HSTA program strives to foster students who are talented in the areas of math and science, who may be a minority or underrepresented, at a financial disadvantaged, or from rural areas.

The hope is that some of these students will prepare and choose a health career or pursue a post-secondary education in a health science field such as medicine, nursing, pharmacology, or dentistry.

The long-term goal is that these graduates would remain in West Virginia, as health care providers.

The HSTA program provides students with the math, science, and the computer technology needed in the academic arena of the 21st century. It also, provides the environment, the materials and resources, laboratory projects, techniques, and application required.

The program is made available to the students within their communities, at the HSTA Summer Institute, and the Annual Spring Symposium.

The HSTA program allows students the unique educational opportunity of working next too, and along side health care professionals and scientist.

Currently, there are twenty- two students at Grafton High School accepted and enrolled in the HSTA program. These students make up the Mountain HSTA and include Barbour, Taylor, and Tucker Counties.

The Grafton High School HSTA Advisor; Brandi Ammons and the HSTA Field Site Coordinator; Crystal Bays conduct the weekly meetings and academically challenge the students.

Ammons who has been involved with HSTA for six years said, “The program brings students, textbooks, and technology, and laboratory experiences together and provides the media and technical aids to equip the students with the hands on application.”

The freshman students must maintain 2.5 GPA, and a 3.0 GPA is required for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The students are required to attend a minimum of seventeen out of twenty four instructional hours through weekly meetings, community service projects, and summer camp.

In return, the students are provided with one on one instruction with teachers and professionals, the opportunity to learn through math and science projects in correlation to application, while using state of the art classrooms and learning tools.

The program facilitates and encourages students with leadership development skills, builds positive self-esteem, motivational enhancement skills and reinforces or improves study skills.

The Grafton High School students are currently working on their Annual Spring Symposium, scheduled for Monday, April 12, 2010. The event is mandatory, and the competition for the 2010 will be held at Philip Barbour High School.

The students are putting to practice the skills of observation, developing questions, creating a survey and drawing conclusions for this years project. The class of twenty-two students was divided into two study groups. Each individual from each group will be using a Wii machine and exercise board. Students from one group will utilize the Wii Fit Plus Program for three days.

During each day, the students will be collecting data and answering the same questions.

The other group will also be utilizing the Wii and exercise board. However, the individuals that make up this group will be using the Wii Active Program for three days. During each day, the students will also be collecting the data and answering the same questions.

Then each group will combine their data, and both groups will combine their efforts to formulate a hypothesis. The Grafton High School students will have the opportunity to present their findings in front of educators, students from across the state, family and friends.