COTTAGE HEALTH CAREERS ACADEMY AT SAN MARCOS HIGH SCHOOL
Building an industry-standard program of excellence to train future health care professionals.
For over 20 years, the Cottage Health Careers Academy at San Marcos High School has served as the pre-eminent high school program dedicated to preparing students for careers in the healthcare field on the Central Coast. More than 650 students, from backgrounds reflecting the diverse student body of San Marcos High, have graduated from the program, including 273 who have completed an internship at Cottage Hospital and earned a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certificate. More than 100 of these students have gone on to obtain local employment in the healthcare field as nurses, technicians, doctors, and at least one veterinarian.
Beginning Fall 2026, approximately 240 students in grades 9 through 12 will participate in the Cottage Health Careers Academy following the program's expansion to include 9th grade. Students completing the academy's dual pathway Career Technical Education (CTE) program will earn CTE certifications in Biotechnology and Mental & Behavioral Health. In addition, the academy is working to expand access to industry-standard certification opportunities for as many seniors as possible through partnerships with Santa Barbara City College, the National Healthcareer Association, and additional partners currently in development. These opportunities include certifications such as Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Patient Care Technician (PCT), Medical Assistant (MA), and others.
While these numbers are impressive, the San Marcos community recognizes that there is far more potential than we have currently tapped into.
“A talented, qualified, engaged and diverse workforce is at the heart of America’s health care system. However, hospitals and health systems face mounting workforce challenges, including critical staffing shortages, which could jeopardize access to care in the communities they serve.”
— RON WERFT, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cottage Health, and Chair of the American Hospital Association Board Task Force on the Workforce
ACCORDING TO DATA, a local healthcare worker will stay working in the Cottage Health Care system for an average of 25 years, while a non-local person will remain for an average of five years. (from the Cottage Health Community Needs Assessment Report, 2019)
This project will allow us to build an even more robust program, with new pathways in areas such as mental health and healthcare administration, by creating a new campus for the Cottage Health Careers Academy at San Marcos High School with an updated, customized, centralized facility. This new building will not only provide our students with more opportunities to build lives in our local area, but also help address the dearth of qualified applicants for our local health provider organizations. Perhaps most importantly, Our new mental health pathway will allow us to leverage our new Wellness Center to both train up future leaders in the field and allow us to creatively approach the ongoing mental health crisis amongst our youth. As part of the reimagining of the Cottage Health Careers Academy at San Marcos High School we have already convened an advisory panel consisting of many of the top leaders in the local health care field, and have partnered with Cottage Hospital and the Mosher Foundation to create and fund a full time Cottage Health Careers Academy at San Marcos High School Coordinator to develop our new pathways, create new curriculum, and build the profoundly transformative program we envision.
Alumni Statistics
422 students have graduated from the Cottage Health Careers Academy at San Marcos High School.
214 of them graduated as Certified Nursing Assistants.
23 students have been hired at Cottage Health Systems.
52 students have been hired in other health care settings both in and outside of our community.
The demographics of the Cottage Health Careers Academy at San Marcos High School mirror that of San Marcos High School. The Cottage Health Careers Academy at San Marcos High School is open to all students.
