Maryland school begins homeland security magnet program | 07.07.2006 | 08:25:02 | Views: 5499 | ID: July 7 '06: Across the country, there are magnet schools help high school students hone their skills in math, science, the arts and other technical fields. The Baltimore Sun reported that now there will be a magnet school in Harford County which will focus on homeland security for "preparing high school students for careers in disaster response, high-level computer science and law enforcement." The curriculum is expected to be ready for the fall 2007 year and students will be given "limited security clearances" so that they can apply for internships at the nearby Aberdeen Proving Ground, a military test site for conventional and biological weapons. The course curriculum "is being developed, [and] is expected to include public safety, border control, religious ideology, geospatial technology, cybersecurity, and threat identification. .. A cross-section of county teachers with military or emergency-response backgrounds, including former Navy liaison to APG who teaches science, will create the program." Close to the Baltimore area, there are several major universities and community colleges which are offering homeland security-related degrees. Local educators told the Sun they would like to encourage a local movement to help "feed students into area universities, which have been rapidly developing similar programs in advanced security since," September 11, 2001. Frank J. Cilluffo, the director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University told the Sun, "As we look out to the next generation and the roles they're going to play in protecting the homeland on national security issues, it is significant to get some of the best and brightest engaged in these issues. ... I think it's quite entrepreneurial for a high school to move out in front." The project is funded by a $200,000 state grant and will enroll about 200 students. The new homeland security magnet program "will become one of several similar programs to Harford students, joining a math and sciences academy based at Aberdeen High School and planned agricultural and medical sciences magnets."
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