Paving the Pathway: LEAD Charter School is approved as AMCA registered testing facility
Newark, NJ—LEAD Charter School, the state’s only dropout recovery district and an initiative of Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN), was recently approved by the American Medical Certification Association (AMCA) as a registered testing facility and approved to offer the national certification exams in Clinical Medical Assistant Certification, EKG Technician Certification, and Phlebotomy Technician Certification. LEAD implements the YouthBuild model of education combined with workforce development and students have the opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma and an industry-recognized certification.
Registering LEAD as a testing center for several national certification exams came through the accreditation process with the AMCA. Shabani Stewart, Managing Director of Curriculum and Instruction at LEAD, shared about what this development means for students.
“LEAD being recognized as an official testing center is a significant step toward strengthening the postsecondary pathways for our young people,” she said. “Providing immediate access to national certification exams in-house will ensure greater opportunities to earn stackable credentials in the Allied Health pathway. This will result in a more seamless transition into apprenticeships, higher education, and gainful employment.”
Within the Allied Health track at LEAD, students are able to work towards becoming a Home Health Aide (HHA), Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) or Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). The CMA and CNA certifications are administered through a partnership with District 1199J’s Training and Development Fund.
District 1199J, New Jersey’s original healthcare union, administers Department of Labor (DOL) approved pre-apprenticeship programs that provide young people valuable skills, prepares them for credential exams, and helps place them in hospitals throughout the state for paid apprenticeships. District 1199J's partnership with LEAD offers extended high-quality education and workforce development services to young people and increases the number of opportunity youth within Essex County that enter careers in healthcare. The partnership is funded in large part by a recent grant from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.
NOYN’s Chief Program Officer Jasmine Joseph-Forman added, “Our team at LEAD and our strong partnerships with leaders in this field, including at District 1199J and the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey , have been instrumental in obtaining this accreditation. We look forward to continuing to develop our CTE programs and empowering young people to achieve success.”
To learn more about LEAD Charter School and its career pathways, visit https://www.leadcharterschool.org/enroll.
