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RBB outlines biomedical training pipeline with Boston Scientific, Cook Medical and IU Health
Summary
Dr. Jerry Sanders told the Monroe County Predevelopment Commission the RBB Community School Corporation is designing a biomedical training program that will bring company trainers into high schools, add two training rooms and a simulated clinical lab, and align junior-high career pathways with high-school certification opportunities.
Dr. Jerry Sanders of the RBB Community School Corporation told the Monroe County Predevelopment Commission that the district is developing a biomedical training project in partnership with Boston Scientific, Cook Medical and IU Health, with a possible future relationship with Centra.
Sanders said the companies will “send the people that train their new employees” to the high school campus to adapt workplace training modules to a high-school schedule so juniors and seniors can earn industry certifications. “The plan then is for us to create this pipeline of future employees for these companies to solve their employment issues, and also to meet the needs of our young people,” Sanders said.
The project will add two training rooms to the high school: a shared training room for Boston Scientific and Cook Medical and a simulation lab configured like hospital rooms for hands-on practice. Sanders said the district is in the design and bonding phase and that the project will proceed through required legal meetings and public hearings.
Why it matters: the proposal pairs classroom pathways with local employer demand, potentially enabling graduates to enter the workforce immediately with certifications or to have company support to pursue further education. Sanders said the work is funded in part by the West Side tax increment financing (TIF) district, which “provides funding annually for STEM oriented activities” at RBB.
Sanders described broader curriculum work tied to the training project. The district is expanding career pathways that begin in junior high and align through high school; he said the district now reports roughly 17 or 18 career pathways and that biomedical education is a named pathway. Sanders also said RBB is participating in Robert Marzano’s High Reliability Schools (HRS) program and that the junior high recently submitted materials for HRS Level 1 certification.
Sanders highlighted other student, program and facility developments tied to the district’s STEM efforts: new video boards used for student-created content and marketing, an “innovative learning center” that supports student-run businesses (including a student-operated coffee shop), and the district’s interest in collecting alumni outcome data to document long-term program effects. He said some students report wishing these pathways had started earlier, and shared an anecdote of a former student who used their experience running a high-school business as part of an application to the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.
Commissioners and staff asked about student reactions and program monitoring. Commissioner Jones asked, “what's the student's attitude about it all?” Sanders said seniors often tell him, “why didn't we start this earlier?” and described students as “smart” and enthusiastic. The commission encouraged site visits and suggested using alumni reunions and career coaches to collect post‑graduation outcome data.
Next steps Sanders identified are continued curriculum alignment with industry trainers, completion of design and bonding steps for the new high-school additions, and forthcoming public hearings as part of the construction approval process. He invited commissioners to visit the programs on campus.
Ending: Commissioners thanked Sanders and staff for the report and agreed to consider follow-up visits and updates as the design and bonding process moves forward.
