MONTAGUE — Students in the freshman animal science program at Franklin County Technical School got acquainted with a classmate’s feline companion, Eva, on Wednesday, while gaining practical experience performing blood tests.
The animal science program — the first new shop class added to the school’s curriculum since it opened in 1976 — was introduced in the fall of 2019. It has developed mostly during the pandemic, but school administrators say it is still on track and growing as planned.
Typical class sessions can involve a field trip to a farm, or a visit from a farmer or veterinarian who may bring different animals to the school.
Sherry Holt, the doctor of veterinary medicine who teaches the class, has previously worked at zoos, taught at the University of Massachusetts and had a veterinary practice in Nantucket for 20 years, she said.
On Wednesday, Holt also brought one of her own animals to class, a 14-year-old dog named Alba. Alba helps students understand that animals, like humans, each have unique temperaments, Holt said — different pain thresholds, different levels of comfort around people. Understanding these things is necessary to work successfully with the animal.
“You’ve got to look at them individually,” Holt said.
Freshman students at the technical high school start each year with an exploratory period”in which they try all the available vocational shop classes, and then commit to the one they will likely stay in for the rest of their high school education. Because of the pandemic, this year’s exploratory period was several weeks longer than usual, and so this year’s freshmen are just now settling into their shop classes of choice, Holt explained.
Situated in a repurposed part of the school building, the animal science facility and equipment is worth nearly $300,000 and was funded entirely through grants, said Superintendent Rick Martin.
The program took its first freshman class of about 15 students in the 2019 to 2020 school year. If it continues to increase in popularity, class sizes could increase to about 20 students per grade level, Martin said.
“The pandemic has definitely limited the vibrancy of the program, as it has every single academic and vocational program. Veterinary science is no different,” Martin said. “But we’re still on pace to do what we would have done, globally, with the program.”
Designed in consultation with industry professionals and university-level academics, the program is designed to give students hands-on experience in working with animals and using professional-grade lab equipment. By the time they graduate, students are certified to either work as a veterinarian’s assistant or to pursue advanced education to become either a veterinarian or veterinary technician.
Students come to the program with other ambitions as well. Lillian Poirier, a sophomore who was in the program’s first class last year, said she wants to be a marine biologist. Anna Morrissey, also a sophomore, said she wants to work as a veterinarian for large animals like horses.
Both said the program is more diverse than they expected, and more hands-on, despite the pandemic.
“It’s definitely something that you really learn with hands-on and seeing it in front of you. But we also have a lot of book work,” Poirier said. “It’s book work when we’re remote, and then we can dive into the fun stuff on days when we’re in school.”
“I wasn’t sure about working with small animals, because I’ve always worked with horses,” Morrissey said. “But I think I liked it a lot more than I thought I was going to.”
In the future, the school is planning an entirely new 4,800-square-foot building on campus to house the animal science facilities, which will be better integrated with outdoor pens for holding the animals, Martin said. Plans for the new building are developing slowly, as the construction will be at least partly handled by students. However, he said a tentative goal is to at least start construction in 2022.
“I’m really excited to see where it goes, even after we graduate,” Poirier said of the animal science program. “Just hearing the stuff that is going to go into it is so fascinating.”
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.