School to build nursing pipeline

Charter institution aims to meet growing demand

ALBANY — After many delays, the Nurses Middle College Charter High School is finally ready to open this fall.

The school has applied for its official permit, which the planning board will consider next week. Assuming it is approved, the school will be at 50 Beaver St. Officials are confident and have already begun taking applications for the first class of ninth graders.

“We are 100 percent ready to go and scheduled to open in September,” said Head of School/principal Jan Zadoorian.

Originally the school had planned to open in September 2022, but organizers did not locate a facility in time, according to board of trustee meeting minutes. Zadoorian joined the staff later, but said COVID-19 slowed everything down.

The deadline to apply is April 3 at nursescr.org. The school can take up to 156 students; if more apply, there will be a lottery.

“We don’t look at grades before they come in; we accept all students,” Zadoorian said. “Anyone can apply that has an interest.”

Two of the school’s founding board members, Susan Birkhead and Brenda Robinson, have previously said a goal of the school is to create a pipeline of future nurses and health care professionals that can meet growing demand and is as diverse as the communities that make up the Capital Region.

The school opening comes amid huge health care job vacancies. At the end of 2022, there were 9,300 job openings for nurses throughout the state. To fill those jobs, hospitals and nursing homes have been hiring traveling nurses at three to five times