Episode 11: A “Purrr-fect” Program at JATC North

Superintendent:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. In this episode, we had inside the very hands-on Veterinary Science Program at JATC North, where teens are turning their love of animals into possible careers. The program helps West Jordan Animal Control, spay and neuter stray and feral cats., giving them the chance at a better life. It's a life lesson students embrace. Let's start by heading inside the animal operating room with instructor and licensed Veterinarian, Dr. Wyatt Frampton.

Dr. Frampton:
I feel like you learn a lot about animals and Vet Science, but you also learn a lot about life in general in this class. I would say that the majority are probably not going to stay in the profession of animals. They're going to go find some way to make more money easier. But hopefully we're going to have animals, so I'd like to take care of them. And they are going to tell them you're probably going to live until that age, regardless of what they think. Now, you're going to run into medical things. As you get older, teach them as much medicine as we go along that behavior.

Superintendent:
For those listening, he's talking through a mask, as you can imagine, because he's in surgery. While Dr. Frampton takes a few students at a time through the spay and neuter process in the operating room, we stepped out into the clinic to talk with other teens in the program. What made you guys want to be in this program?

Student:
I wanted a good job after high school. I knew that Vet tech would give me something to be able to get a good paying job after high school.

Superintendent:
Do you like animals? Is that why you chose this program?

Student:
I do. I'm more interested in horses, but I thought that being a Vet tech after high school would be a good way to go down that path of being a horse Vet.

Superintendent:
So, okay. That's great.

Student:
I want to be a Veterinarian so I thought that this would further the career and get me more interested all around.

Superintendent:
What made you want to be a Vet? Do you like animals? What was it that moved you that way?

Student:
I really like animals, and I just always kind of wanted to be a Vet. I just always wanted to, so this is like one step closer to being, doing animal therapy. I just joined the class because it's one step closer to it. I've \grown up with my four dogs. My whole life, I've always had four dogs and I just liked being around them. And I want to work with bigger animals when I'm older. So that's why I did this class just because it gets me closer to doing that.

Superintendent:
What bigger animals do you want to work with?

Student:
Like more wildlife, like zoo animals, tigers and lions and all that stuff. I just have always had like a huge passion for those animals and I just would love to work with them and help rehabilitate them and everything.

Superintendent:
Sorry. Did you just give a shot to a cat there?

Student:
It's the dates them. So in a few minutes, he's going to be feeling a little bit funny. It's going to be drugged up. So we'll write down the time that we gave it and wait for her to fall asleep.

Superintendent:
So tell me about these cats. We've got these cats in cages here. Where did these cats come from?

Student:
They come from West Jordan Animal control when they're in these cages and then the ones that are in the completely confined cage, those ones are feral. So they're more likely to be a little bit more aggressive.

Superintendent:
What's this cat's name over here? Emily. Is Emily about to get a shot? Oh, she's almost out. Oh, she's the one who's actually is out.

Student:
Yeah.

Superintendent:
Okay. See, I have love on her ear and maybe that means she's out.

Student:
Yeah.

Superintendent:
Back inside the operating room. Dr. Frampton explains the goal of this program.

Dr. Frampton:
We try to mimic, we're definitely not a full service veterinary clinic, but we're running a spay neuter program for West Jordan Animal Shelter. So this would be the exact same thing that a full service veterinarian clinic would do with every animal that comes in. We've got this cat that's pre-medicated and ready to go under anesthesia. We're going to be vaccinating her right now. We'll be putting the endotracheal tube to put her on on the gas anesthetics. And then she'll be taken into the other room after we spade or after we clip and scrub her. And then she will be spayed and sent back today. And hopefully by next week have a new home.

Superintendent:
And any surgeries though are done by you? A licensed vet.

Dr. Frampton:
Yes. The students under my supervision could do vaccinations, giving medications or anything like that, but actual surgery, you know, the surgery they get to do would be things like ear tipping, the feral cat was ear tipped. And the only reason we tip their ears is we can see at a distance if they've already been fixed, was to take the cat to recover fully, getting back to the regular mischief.

I feel like it's two weeks. I think that it takes a little while for them, after they first get fixed when they're in the shelter and everything. They're probably going to be sore for a couple more days afterwards.

Superintendent:
What animals will students end up working on in the program?

Dr. Frampton:
We're looking at dogs and cats in the program. But if they go to a certain type of practice, they can go anywhere from large animals horses, cattle, sheep whatever, or they can go into exotics. Pretty much any exotic animal out there. So it really depends on what their interests are. They have a 80 hour externship that they do. And it's depends on their interest. If they don't like horses, I recommend that they don't go up around horses in their externship. And so if they're in exotic, if they are into the aquarium, that's where they need to go. Anybody that's interested in animals, there's a place for you, regardless of what you know, based on your personality. Sometimes you're into the program because you want to pursue it as a professional. Sometimes it's so that you can learn that you really should not pursue it as a profession.

I would say, I would say we're probably looking at 30% will probably stay in with animals somewhere and then 70% will decide there are better and easier ways to make money.

Superintendent:
But after being here only for a few minutes this afternoon, I would say a hundred percent will remember their experience vividly.

Dr. Frampton:
I would hope so.

Superintendent:
Thank you very much for taking the time.

Dr. Frampton:
I appreciate it. Good for animal owners regardless. And most student will own the animals because they do like animals. That's the only reason they're here is because they like them. Don't see too many people that come here that don't have any interest in animals. They don't come to JATC for my program if they don't like animals. There's other programs here, but they come liking animals and they come away from the program knowing how to take even better care of animals.

Superintendent:
Yes. Wow. Impressive program. And I'm super impressed. As I talked with the students, it's obvious they're pushing boundaries and doing things they weren't previously comfortable doing. Even if they were animal lovers, they're learning and doing things that they weren't able to or comfortable doing previously. So congratulations on a great program.

Dr. Frampton:
Well, thank you.

Superintendent:
I am continually amazed at the wide variety of programs available in Jordan School District and the caring professionals who create those opportunities. Thanks to Dr. Frampton and his students for helping me get to know the Veterinary Science Program at JATC. More coming up. We'll have some advice for parents interested in programs for their teens at the JATC North. But first let's take a quick break.

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Superintendent:
Again in studio, we are privileged to have our CTE Director for Jordan School District, Jason Skidmore with us. Welcome Jason.

Jason:
Glad to be here. Glad to be back in studio again.

Superintendent:
Tell us tell us a little bit about JATC North. In another episode we looked at JTC South, but we've got two campuses with these great programs that prepare kids for a career coming right out of high school. Tell us about some of the programs in the Northeast Campus.

Jason:
Yeah. So I'm glad you were able to go by the North Campus and see the Veterinary Lab there. That campus was really designed with kind of a health science and engineering focus. So the Veterinary Science Program is as part of that. Some of the other programs that are available to students, there are Pharmacy Technician, Medical Assisting, Physical Therapy Assistant, Occupational Therapy Assistant. I have a CNA program as well as Engineering and Robotics Programming and Graphics and Visual Design.

Superintedent:
So there are a great number of offerings that we have for students across the District. And the unique thing about what you saw there and what you just mentioned is that these programs, we can't duplicate or replicate those and put them in every high school because of he specialized equipment, the specialized labs, and probably more specifically, the partnership that we have with our industry leaders.

Jason:
They're looking for a student that is trained and ready. They've received enough of a specific number of training hours, certifications, perhaps even college credit that are generated through these programs to prepare them for entry level positions in any of the careers that we just talked about. The beauty of this campus is the students as they start their career in seventh, eighth, ninth grade, as they worked through the high school, they're really developing a skill set that they can capitalize at either of the academies that you just mentioned.

Superintendent:
So when students graduate from the techs or from the tech programs, give us an idea of some of the college credits, or licenses that they may have. I visited the Pharmacy Tech Program, for example. They can be a Pharmacy Assistant, I think right out of school.

Jason:
Now, as soon as they graduate and turn 18, they can sit for their Board Certification and that is a National Board Certification. So we'll have students that it isn't the end for them. This could become a career that they could make good money and they can develop a skill. That's good for them. Many of the students are looking at these as opportunities. I'm going to go to medical school, for example. And so I take the Pharmacy Tech Program, I sit for the Certification and now I can work either on campus. We have students that work up at the University of Utah Hospital as Pharmacy Assistants while they're going to the U. They're making great money as well. So they're not getting into debt as much to help pay for their schooling. But it's a career related track that they can get on and off at anytime throughout their career.

Superintendent:
And you're on the Salt Lake Community College campus, so they can earn college credit as well in some of those courses.

Jason:
Yes. All of the courses offer some type of current credit. And the Biotechnology Program that is also available here, students can start as a high school student and they can transition right over to the Community College, into their college programs. They can do an entire Bachelors Degree with a partnership that we have with the Utah Valley University. They can stay right on that campus and do an entire Bachelor's Degree without leaving the valley, if that's the direction that they'd like to go. So we have some great partnerships that allow students to do that right on that campus.

Superintendent:
There are partnerships with businesses as well that want to hire these kids right out of the program. I remember going to an awards assembly at the Capitol where kids in the Biotech Program had a meet and greet with companies that wanted to hire them right there, on the spot, to keep working for their company, earn a salary and be paid to go to school.

Jason:
Correct.

Superintendent:
Well, that's a pretty good deal. Did we forget about that? You know, we look at the scholarships the students get upon graduation, these in essence are another way to fund education. These are scholarships.

Jason:
All of the students in all of the Health Science Programs will do a clinical experience of some kind. Almost every employer will watch. That's the time for a student to sell themselves. And those students get hired either right out of or right after those experiences, as you just mentioned, and most of those employers will provide some type of tuition reimbursement program. So you work for us full time or part time, and we'll pay for you. And there's this myth that employers won't send back, but almost every employer that we work with will send their employees back to school. If they're willing to do that and they'll pay for their tuition, even in our electrician program, you know, if you want to be an electrician, those companies will pay for you to go back to school, to get a Bachelors Degree, to get a Masters Degree, to move up in the world.

Superintendent:
Great opportunities, great opportunities. We're going to take a break and then we'll be right back with Director Jason Skidmore to talk more about CTE and the opportunities available at our two academies.

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Superintendent:
All right. We're back with Director Jason Skidmore from Jordan School District CTE programs. And we were just talking about the Biotech Program. I think that sometimes there's this idea that these tech programs are only for a certain type of student. But these programs are good, whether you're good with your hands, whether you're wanting to go into health services fields, there are just all kinds of different programs, regardless of what your aptitudes are. There's a CTE program for you, don't you think?

Jason:
Oh, definitely. And I think that's the beauty of the way these programs have been set up. There's the idea that a student can still participate in athletics and their sport events. They can be part of the drama and theater department because students that come to the academies and spend half of their day at the regular high school taking their academic courses and graduation requirements and fulfilling all of those things, as well as participating in any extracurricular the other half of the day. Whether it's the afternoon or the morning they come over to the Academy and they enroll in any of the programs that we just were talking about. Students can ride the bus right from their high school. It'll bring them right to the center then returns them at the end of the day. If the students want to drive, they have that ability to do so. They can park on the campus. We're really set up to be all inclusive for any student, regardless of their skill level, abilities, career interests and there shouldn't be any limitations because we provide that transportation from the home high school to the center. Go to the website to get more information about being a student at jordantech.org.

Superintendent:
Okay. So they visit the website, get information. Parents, don't wait for an open house. Contact the school, stop by, take a look at the programs. There is an open house in the spring, but just set up a time.

Superintendent::
Is that right?

Jason:
Definitely. Anytime somebody wants to come over, we have staff onsite that can show them through. And one of the things we want to do is to get kids excited so they can make plans on how they can make this kind of program work for them.

Superintendent:
So well, we're very proud of these programs as a District.

Jason:
I'm personally very proud of these programs and I would just encourage students and parents to take a look because it doesn't have to be a lifelong career for it to be worth the time. You take four of your eight classes over there. You have certification to be able to do a job that will pay more through school, or while you pursue other interests. And it can be a career or it can be just something that's next, or you can just follow an interest. It's a great way to do that in a very meaningful way. So definitely, door is open, you step forward and you move forward. A door is gonna open somewhere because you meet somebody that you may have never met before.

Superintendent:
Great. Dynamite. We'll be right back in just a few minutes with TwoTruths and a Lie with Jason Skidmore, a little tradition that we have here on the Supercase, but right now we're going to take a break. Join us again in just a moment.

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(21:10):
And we're back with Jason Skidmore, CTE Director for Jordan school district. And we have been playing Two Truths and a Lie at the end of each Supercast. It's your chance to lie to the Superintendent. Mr. Skidmore has been with us on one other episode, so he already lied to me and I think it's my turn to lie to him this time. So I'm going to do Two Truths and a Lie coming at you.

Jason:
Let's bring it.

Superintendent:
You ready?

Jason:
Yep. Let's do it.

Superintendent:
All right. I gotta think this through for a second here. What's it going to be? What's it going to be all right. Every member of my family was born in a different state. I once met Dolly Parton and I had a small role in a movie, small role in a movie.

Jason:
I'm thinking that's the lie because I don't..... wait, was it Peter Pan you were in?

Superintendent:
Well, I have the youthful look of Peter Pan.

Jason:
Certainly, I better go with every member of your family was born in a different state.

Superintendent:
Well, Mr. Skidmore, both of your guesses were wrong. I was born in Seattle Washington. My wife was born in California. I have a son that was born in Texas and a son that was born in Utah. So we were all four born in different States. I did play a very small part, little speaking role in Three O'Clock High. That was filmed in Ogden. When I was in high school, I auditioned and got to be in the movie. So then, I never met Dolly Parton. I've never even seen her in concert, but I'd like to. I have one 45 of her's.

Jason:
That's it. But I knew you were an icon, that music is one of your passions because the passion you had.

Superintendent:
I've met a lot of other people just because I'm into that, but I have not met Dolly Parton's. All right. Well, thank you very much for being on the Supercast. It's good to be here and thanks for all the great work you do in CTE.

Jason:
Thank you.

Superintendent:
Take care. And everyone out there, remember education is the most important. We'll see you out there.