On Friday, Aug. 12, administration from Waterloo High School, Southwestern Illinois College, Oak Hill Care Center and Beck Area Career Center viewed the new Health Occupations classroom and lab. This fall, through a joint venture between Beck Area Career Center and Waterloo School District, high school students at Waterloo High School will be able to take classes toward a nurse's aide certification. Students will study the Illinois Department of Health approved nurse aide curriculum, which consists of a minimum of 80 hours of classroom theory and spend five eight-hour clinical days at Oak Hill. After completing the required hours of instruction, students are eligible to sit for the state certified nurse assistant certification exam. In addition to earning two hours of high school credit, the program is a dual credit program that offers the option of the student earning six hours of college credit through Southwestern Illinois College for the nurse aide curriculum. Other classroom hours will provide instruction in medical terminology. This portion of the class also provides the opportunity to earn three hours of college credit. Therefore, during the 2011-2012 school year, students enrolled in the yearlong program can earn two hours of high school credit and nine hours of college credit.