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UISD CTE recommends veterinary science program at United High starting 2025, pending clinic agreements and staffing
Summary
The Career and Technical Education department recommended implementing a veterinary science program at United High School for 2025 that would prepare students for a Certified Veterinary Assistant Level 1 credential; the plan depends on community clinic partners for required work-based hours and funding from Perkins/CTE allotments.
United Independent School District’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) staff recommended that the board approve implementation of a veterinary science program at United High School beginning in 2025. The program would select roughly 15–18 incoming 11th‑grade students annually to pursue a Certified Veterinary Assistant Level 1 certification through the Texas Veterinary Medical Association.
CTE coordinator Clara Gonzalez told trustees the district has obtained verbal agreements from four local veterinary clinics to provide the 300 required work-based learning hours and to supervise the 78 skills the students must demonstrate for certification. Gonzalez said the district had identified classroom space at United High School large enough to accommodate lab and instructional needs and that the CTE department would cover classroom modifications; modifications include adding water connections and lab infrastructure.
Funding and staffing: Gonzalez said the program would be supported with Perkins and CTE allotment funds and would require hiring one agriculture teacher with veterinary or technician experience. The presentation stated that the CTE teacher’s course load and the weighted funding that CTE courses generate could produce “over $200,000 in the first year,” a figure the presentation used to illustrate how weighted CTE funding would offset teacher salary costs; Gonzalez noted this estimate is tied to student enrollment and course levels.
Limitations and next steps: The presenters emphasized that the primary limiting factor is securing sufficient clinical partnerships to provide the required 300 hours for certification and that formal written agreements would be executed if the board approves the program. The recommendation presented at the workshop was for board approval to proceed with formalizing partnerships and hiring; no formal vote was recorded at the workshop.
Ending
CTE staff requested board approval to implement the program and to finalize written agreements with local clinics; administration said it would proceed with formalizing partnerships and include the program in staffing and budget planning pending board action in a future meeting.
