Building Tampa's Tomorrow

Hillsborough County Public Schools will create two new high schools and a technical college all dedicated to a specific area of workforce development. This is unlike anything that has occurred in our region, a truly innovative approach to education. All three academies will be completely devoted to preparing students for the medical or construction field.  

The medical and the construction field have been identified as high-need areas in our community. Our district is preparing our students specifically for these highly sought-after careers while simultaneously meeting the needs of our local businesses.

Instead of constructing three brand new facilities for this trailblazing project, we will be utilizing spaces across our district that are not being utilized to their fullest capacity. We will redesign those spaces to fit the needs of each new academy.

Planning and design for the Medical Academy at D.W. Waters is underway! In partnership with Tampa Bay Area medical organizations and businesses, Hillsborough County Public Schools has launched into converting the existing D.W. Waters Career Center into a state-of-the-art Medical Academy.

Once completed, the Medical Academy will house labs and facilities for the following courses of study:

Programs of Study

• Nursing Assistant
• Electrocardiograph Technician
• Emergency Medical Responder
• Radiology

These unique fields will provide students with experiences and the opportunity to earn industry certifications which will prepare them to enter the Tampa Bay Area workforce immediately upon graduation.

The Medical Academy at D.W. Waters is a Magnet School and it’s scheduled to open its doors for the 2023–2024 school year. The first Magnet opportunity to apply for the Medical Academy is October 27, 2022 – December 16, 2022.

The Building and Construction Academy is an exciting opportunity for our students in a very in-demand field.

Already, the automotive and construction wings of the Academy are complete. The plumbing classrooms are currently under construction.

Once complete, the Building and Construction Academy will house labs and facilities for the following courses of study:

Programs of Study

• Plumbing
• Building Construction Technologies
• Electricity
• Automotive

These unique fields will provide students with experiences and the opportunity to earn industry certifications which will prepare them to enter the Tampa Bay Area workforce immediately upon graduation.

The Bowers/Whitley Building Construction Academy is a Magnet School and it’s scheduled to open its doors for the 2023–2024 school year. The first Magnet opportunity to apply for the Building Construction Academy is October 27, 2022 – December 16, 2022.

As the Medical Academy at D.W. Waters opens for Grades 9-12 for the 2023–2024 academic year, Hillsborough County Public Schools will dive into planning for the Post-Secondary Brewster Medical Technical College! This unique facility will provide not only a state-of-the-art pathway for in-depth medical training but will also provide continuity for our students as they graduate from the Medical Academy at D.W. Waters. Brewster students will work hand-in-hand with local medical businesses and organizations, with on-the-job training and instruction. Students graduating from Brewster Medical Technical College will be prepared to immediately further their careers with immediate job opportunities or continuing their studies at higher education institutions.

The Brewster Medical Technical College is scheduled to open its doors for the 2023–2024 school year. More information regarding planning and design will be forthcoming. Stay tuned!

One of the next steps is to get our students excited about these new academies and all the opportunities they will bring.

With that in mind, we are creating a series of 40 videos called “40 for the Future”. These videos will show our students potential career opportunities in the medical and construction fields across the Tampa Bay area. The “40 for the Future” videos will be shown to our middle and high school students beginning in April 2022 on their school morning shows.