The Baker School Board approved at its Feb. 9 meeting a partnership with Lane Regional Medical Center for the 2012 “A-HEC of a Summer” program.

The Central Louisiana Area Health Education Center (A-HEC) and the Zachary Community School System are also partners.

They recognize the need for increasing the number of health care professionals in rural areas and have developed a health career exploration program for high-school students.

The program pairs qualified high-school students with doctors for an introduction to the medical profession, including CPR certification, classroom instruction and workshops.

Participants will receive stethoscopes, scrub suits, hospital name tags, lunch and will earn one-half unit of high-school credit.

In other business:

UPWARD BOUND: The board approved a memorandum of understanding between the Classic Upward Bound Project, Southern University and Baker High School to provide first-generation students an opportunity to graduate from high school, enter and complete college.

SIXTH-GRADE MAGNET: The board agreed to add a sixth-grade magnet class at Baker Middle School for the 2012-2013 school year.

This will give students leaving Park Ridge Elementary Magnet another outlet, according to Superintendent Ulysses Joseph.

“We plan to add a seventh grade next year and an eighth grade the year after,” said Joseph.

The sixth-grade magnet students will attend Baker Middle in special classes for social studies, science, English and math, but will join the other students for music and physical education.

WILDLIFE & FISHERIES: Dana Carpenter, board member, announced that Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries recognizes a need for more biologists and wishes to adopt a Baker school to give kids hands-on experience in biological sciences.