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Bentonville Ignite adds doula training to health‑sciences strand
Summary
Bentonville School District’s Ignite program launched a high‑school doula training this spring in partnership with UAMS and local organizations; 11 students are enrolled in the new course, which district staff say aims to address high maternal and newborn morbidity in Arkansas and create career pathways for students.
At the Feb. 18 Bentonville School District Board of Education meeting, Ignite program staff described a newly launched doula training offered this school year for 11 eleventh‑ and twelfth‑grade students.
Ignite staff framed the doula training as an expansion of the program’s health sciences strand and presented partnerships and curriculum details to the board. “A doula is the very lowest level of support that we can give a mom before, during and after her pregnancy,” said Wendy Broughton, the district’s health sciences instructor, describing the role and how the class was developed after a maternal‑health roundtable in August.
The program is a partnership between the district and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS); Birthing and Beyond (Kansas City) and Ujima Maternity Network (Little Rock) are involved in instruction, and Bentonville Birthing Services plus Mercy and Willow Creek were identified as clinical sites. Students in the course are in class or clinical settings five days a week for roughly two hours a day, Broughton said. Staff described the training as intended to build prenatal, labor and postpartum supports and to give students an industry‑recognizable credential and hands‑on experience.
Jessica Immel, who presented an Ignite overview to the board, said Ignite serves 580 juniors and seniors across 10 career strands and emphasized four program pillars: college credit, industry certifications, professional networks and internships or projects. She said the health sciences strand was expanded this year to include a stronger integrative health component alongside emergency medicine, pre‑nursing and medical assisting.
Students who spoke to the board described personal motivations. "My mom was a teen mom… she didn't have a lot of support," student Lily Castilla said, explaining why the program mattered to her. Classmate Hallie Whitley described learning breathing and pain‑relief techniques and said doula work could complement her plans to pursue pediatric occupational therapy.
Board members asked about enrollment and selection. Immel said Ignite received 1,020 applications this cycle for 580 seats. Later in the meeting district staff confirmed there were 61 early high‑school graduates this year; staff said that number accounted for a drop shown elsewhere in the consent‑agenda enrollment figures.
Board members praised the program as a community‑connected career pathway and thanked staff and the students for presenting.
The presentation was informational; no board action was required or taken on the doula training during the Feb. 18 meeting.
