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Laredo ISD to offer seventh-grade immunization clinics and revive Little Medical School at middle schools
Summary
Laredo ISD health services will provide Tdap and MCV4 immunizations at middle schools during seventh-grade schedule pickup and will fund a Little Medical School program for seventh and eighth graders this fall using federal funds.
Laredo ISD health services plans to offer on-campus Tdap and MCV4 immunizations at every district middle school during seventh-grade schedule pickup tomorrow to help students complete enrollment, and the district will resume the Little Medical School program for seventh and eighth graders in the 2025–26 school year.
The district's director of health services, Alejandra Pena, said the health services department partnered with the City of Laredo health department for vaccinations and that a May pilot delivered 218 Tdap and 225 MCV4 doses to students at campus clinics. "We did provide these in May for our students at their campuses with the consent of their parents, and we had a total of 218 Tdap and 225 MCV4 doses given," Pena said.
Pena said teams will be at each middle school during schedule pickup so students who still need the vaccines can receive them on campus and complete enrollment without leaving the school. "We will be at every middle school tomorrow," she said.
Separately, the district will run Little Medical School at all LISD middle schools. The program, funded with federal money, will select 15 seventh graders and 15 eighth graders at each campus for twice-weekly, one-hour sessions over nine weeks. Seventh-grade sessions will focus on general medicine, nursing, CPR, first aid and the Heimlich maneuver; eighth-grade sessions will introduce pediatric sports medicine, dental and veterinary topics to help students explore health-care careers and magnet program options such as HOSA.
When asked why the program is limited to middle schools this year, Trustee Veronica Ordono was told the limitation is budgetary and that federal funds allocated cover only middle-school participation. The district provided a quote of $27,200 to cover two grade levels (the selected students at the middle-school level) and noted the cost would be $3,400 per elementary campus if the program were extended.
District staff said they intend to pair fall and spring offerings so middle-school participants can later visit special education units to share basic hands-on familiarity with medical equipment. "We had discussed that we were gonna do seventh grade in the fall and eighth grade in the spring. But having that in mind, we decided to do both in the fall," Pena said, and staff said they will prepare students to visit special education units after the fall session concludes.
The district gave a target start date of Sept. 22 for the Little Medical School sessions, which are planned to conclude the week before Thanksgiving. Staff said parents were notified via flyers and district social media about times and locations for the vaccination clinics and program selection.
Board members and staff encouraged expanding access if future budgets permit and noted the program's potential to recruit students into high-school health magnets and career pathways.
