Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School, commonly known as "Hela High", is a high school located in Vancouver, Washington. It is the most recent high school built in the Evergreen Public Schools, and one of six high schools in the district. The school's colors are light Blue, dark blue and Grey. The school's mascot is the Phoenix. The school's principal is Julie Tumelty. The school has 35 staff members.HistoryOpening in 2013, HeLa was the sixth high school built in the Evergreen School District.. Construction began in 2011 after the completion of Union High School in 2007. Major funding for the construction of the school came from PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center as well as numerous other hospitals, clinics and research facilities in Vancouver, WA. and Portland, OR. The school was named after Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman who was the unwitting donor of medical research cells (derived from a cancerous tumor) which were cultured to create the first known human immortal cell line.Academic programsHeLa High offers students a full high school curriculum with a focus on medical careers. Students will choose from four program areas, and will participate in job shadows and internships during their junior and senior year.The four programs of study are:Nursing and Patient Services Biomedical EngineeringPharmacologyBiotechnology Students are enrolled in a rigorous curriculum that includes all of the basic core classes, math, science, English, and history, as well as their specific science electives. Many classes offered at HeLa are not offered at traditional high schools. HeLa also offers a variety of other electives including music, digital arts, world languages and leadership. HeLa High students are supported by an advocacy program called Helix, The Helix program will focus on student achievement, college and career goals and advisory capstone research projects. Through this program, and the small school atmosphere, and students will be well known by school staff.
