As UTRGV prepares for a new medical school multiple school districts across the Valley are providing their own students with educational opportunities in the medical field.

If you've driven on Expressway 77 through Rancho Viejo recently, you've probably noticed the new school rising from the brush.

It's South Texas Independent School District's new Medical Academy.

The 181,000 foot campus will serve more than 650 students in the fall.

"We want to improve the quality of life in the valley, that is our focus," Superintendent Dr. Marla Guerra said.

Guerra says classrooms are designed to mimic real life work before they send students off campus to learn.

"What we want to do is send our students to the medical school to shadow doctors," Guerra said.

In fact, the Medical Academy is the first high school in the country to provide a phlebotomy certification.

"Our kids are able to draw blood, and they use that training to work themselves through college. It's not an end in itself but a means to an end and that's a college degree, Guerra said.

South Texas ISD is not the only district placing an emphasis on medicine.

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New medical academy to open in Rancho Viejo