Harlingen School of Health Professions marks decade of growth; board praises wellness, partnerships and career pathways

At a Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District board meeting, Harlingen School of Health Professions Principal Tina Garza presented a 10-year summary of the campus’s academic and career-focused work, saying the school has graduated 465 students and built deep community partnerships to expand career and college pathways.

Garza told trustees the campus embeds health science themes across core subjects, adds hands-on practicum placements with local providers, and has a wellness center that supports students’ social‑emotional needs. "To date, Harlingen School of Health Professions has graduated 465 students," Garza said, and "one third have reached their undergraduate milestones and are continuing to graduate or to graduate schools." She said the campus partners with more than 21 community organizations and has served over 25 sets of siblings whose families send multiple children to the school.

Board members and staff said the program provides real work opportunities and credentials. In response to board questions about the wellness center, Garza said the campus intentionally opened the space to all students and tracks visits. "We opened up... some neat doors for some students," she said, adding that staff and students use the space at different times and that the school maintains data on who uses which parts of the wellness center.

Trustees asked about student use and teacher participation in the wellness space. A board member asked whether roughly 72% of students had used the room; Garza said the district has embedded opportunities so most students have at least a basic experience and that administrators track usage. Trustees also asked about the school’s partnerships and practicums; a representative of a partner organization described placing students in medical-assistant, dental-assistant and pharmacy‑tech rotations and said those placements have grown since 2019.

Students and teachers described classroom examples of cross-curricular health science learning: measuring heart‑related triangles in math, AP World History presentations on medical advances, and biology experiments about digestion and pH. A senior student who spoke about the wellness center called it a place to "decompress and de stress" and said it helped her focus in class.

Trustees praised the campus for college and career readiness, noting graduates leave with industry certifications and that the school has built a pipeline into local employers and UTRGV. Board members and the superintendent asked Garza to continue expanding technology and biomedical tools in the curriculum; Garza said technology and rapidly changing biomedical tools will be a focus going forward and that teachers are participating in recent professional learning about artificial intelligence and instructional delivery.

The presentation closed with trustees encouraging the campus to keep former graduates involved as role models and to continue monitoring outcomes for graduates who enter the workforce or higher education.

Garza invited trustees and the public to upcoming campus events to see coursework and practicums firsthand.

The board did not take a separate formal vote on the principal’s report; the item was a regular campus report on the agenda.