Austin-area teens are getting an unusually early shot at hospital careers. On May 11, Austin Community College and its partners rolled out the Central Texas Healthcare Academy, a new pathway that lets ninth-graders in Pflugerville and Hays CISD start college-linked training for nursing and allied health while they are still in high school. The setup is built so students can graduate with industry-recognized credentials that stack directly into ACC associate degrees, and ACC and district officials say qualifying students will not pay out of pocket. The long-term goal is to grow a homegrown pipeline for a Central Texas healthcare workforce that is already feeling the strain.
Funding and partners
The academy debuts with more than $10 million in philanthropic support, including a $6.3 million grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, $3.2 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies, a $740,000 commitment from St. David’s Foundation, and $300,000 from a high-demand jobs fund, according to ACC Newsroom. ACC leaders say the model borrows heavily from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ healthcare-focused high school initiative and is being shaped with input from major regional health systems. College officials describe the academy as an employer-driven effort that gives teenagers earlier access to college-level training while offering hospitals a steadier supply of local talent.
Workforce crunch and job outlook
The backdrop is a tight labor market in Texas hospitals. A 2024 hospital staffing report from the Texas Department of State Health Services found that registered nurse jobs were 16.4% vacant statewide. Hospitals cited patient volume, case complexity and turnover as key reasons for the gaps, according to Texas DSHS. National forecasts tell a similar story. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections show registered nurse employment growing about 5% over the next decade, while roles like health information technologists are expected to grow at a faster clip, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those are exactly the kinds of jobs this academy is targeting, which helps explain why local employers are so invested.
Enrollment and districts
The first wave of students is already lined up. As reported by the Austin American-Statesman, the academy expects to enroll about 300 ninth-graders from Pflugerville ISD and around 175 from Hays Consolidated ISD. ACC says the program officially starts in fall 2026, and several hundred students across the participating districts have already signed up to join the inaugural cohorts. District leaders describe the academy as a two-for-one deal: students can earn real credentials while local hospitals get a more reliable pipeline of future hires.
How the academy will work
ACC outlines the Central Texas Healthcare Academy as a dual-credit track that begins in ninth grade and can lead to a certificate by the time students finish high school, with the option to roll straight into an associate degree in fields such as professional nursing, diagnostic medical imaging, surgical technology, health information technology, and paramedicine, according to ACC’s program page. “They are holding a passport to a career,” Hays CISD Superintendent Eric Wright said in coverage of the launch, emphasizing the program’s focus on real-world jobs, not just résumés. District officials told the Statesman that some classes will be built into the regular school day, and that students who qualify for federal lunch assistance will receive their textbooks at no cost.
What this means for students and employers
College and district leaders frame the academy as a practical fix for a long-running mismatch between hospital hiring needs and the number of local candidates ready to step in. “Student success takes all of us,” ACC Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart said, arguing that a regional model can give students clearer, more affordable pathways into healthcare while giving employers more locally trained staff. Educators caution that the real test will be maintaining strong hospital partnerships and clinical placements so that the promised pipeline from classroom to clinic actually holds.
