After a year and a half of sharing classrooms with neighboring schools, Homestead’s new medical magnet high school opened the doors of its new, permanent home for students on Jan. 3.

The Medical Academy for Science and Technology is now in the same building as the former James Archer Smith Hospital, where many of the school’s students were born.

The former hospital, which opened in 1940 at 1220 NW First Ave., underwent a $15 million renovation to house the medical magnet school.

With plans for a medical library, an Apple computer lab, a Dell computer lab and murals, the new school is about “99 percent done,” said Gregory Zawyer, the school’s principal.

“We’re still moving in, but we’re glad to be here,” he said.

The new building is an investment by the Miami-Dade School Board in a part of the county where many parents have been unhappy with the board’s high schools. Homestead High and South Dade High both recently improved their state ratings from a D to a C.

This has attracted several charter school operators to the area. Keys Gate Charter High School opened its doors to freshmen and sophomores this academic school year, and plans for two other charter high schools were approved in 2011.

MAST, which is the first medical academy in South Miami-Dade and the second in Florida, now has 250 students with 20 faculty and staff. Zawyer said he expects about 500 students in total for the next school year, and the total to reach 750 within a few years.

The new school includes a fitness center equipped with a sound system and showers, and a cafeteria lunch menu with exclusively healthy foods.

Although none of the aspects of the former hospital were kept after the renovation, the physical therapy lab is fully equipped with physical therapy tables and hospital curtains.

A recent visit to a freshman anatomy and physiology class found Desiree Chase, 26, teaching students about hydration and electrolytes. She used a physical therapy table to show how to properly position a person who could be suffering from alcohol poisoning.

Chase is very happy to be a part of the school and its new building.

“It facilitates an eagerness to learn; the kids are so much more excited to be at the school now that we’re in our own building, it’s very innovative,” she said. “It’s a blessing to be working here, especially my first year teaching.”

The school offers students three tracks to choose from, including biomedical, pharmaceutical and physical therapy. It most recently incorporated Project Lead the Way to its curriculum, in which students can get college credit for classes at the school.

“There’s a shortage of STEM across America, so I figured the students would be right on target with this program,” Zawyer said.

“STEM” is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The program, linked with Florida International University, gives the students the potential opportunity for dual-enrollment and provides them with laptops for their academic usage.

Freshman Nia Gay and her twin sister Niya Gay, 15, believe the school is “amazing.”

“This school is incomparable. It’s absolutely amazing; the learning experience and the opportunities, it’s really more than what I expected,” Nia said. “There’s nothing about the school I don’t like.”

Sophomore Ponce Jones, 15, was born at the former James Archer Smith hospital. He also made the honor roll for the third nine weeks, and has dreams of being a surgeon when he grows up. Currently, he’s studying physical therapy, and also believes the facility is “just amazing.”

Sophomore Ashley Padilla, 15, plays soccer when school’s not in session, and has dreams of making a breakthrough discovery for the medical field after her grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. To fulfill her community service requirement, she helps disabled children learn to play soccer.

“It means a lot to wear the MAST at Homestead uniform,” she said. “It’s really good for our future.”

The school’s main entrance, which is engraved with encouraging words including ‘think outside the box,’ perfectly reflects the school’s mission. Its design, which contains much open space and colorful, newly painted walls, also creates a welcoming atmosphere for students.

“It’s very exciting. I think it adds to the neighborhood, it adds to the town and it adds to the ownership of all the people who live there,” said Lawrence Feldman, who represents the Homestead area on the Miami-Dade School Board.

Nichol Guerra, 23, grew up in Homestead and now serves as the school’s recruiter. She also teaches world history and drama.

“It’s nice for us to have a home, we’ve felt like nomads for the past couple of years,” she said. “Here, they all have the resources they need.”