Fort Bend ISD Cutting Some Agriculture Programs for 2017-18 School Year

FORT BEND COUNTY, TX -- The Fort Bend Independent School District has announced they will be cutting classes from their agriculture program in the 2017-2018 school year.

The district plans to cut its Agriculture Facilities Design and Fabrication course -- or welding and fabrication -- and its Wildlife and Fisheries course from the districts agriculture science curriculum.

According to a KPRC report, FBISD spokesperson Nancy Porter said in a statement that the district is making changes as a result of changes in course descriptions through the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.

“Fort Bend ISD is committed to preparing students for success, whether they enter college or the workforce,” Porter said in a statement. “With that in mind, Career and Technical Education provides challenging career pathways using real world practices, allowing students to acquire knowledge, technical skills, and the opportunity to earn industry certification.”

Porter said in her statement that the district used comprehensive historic data to examine enrollment in those courses before making a final decision.

"While not all current classes will be offered in 17-18, students who are interested in coursework such as Agriculture Facilities Design and Fabrication, will still have an opportunity for advanced coursework and additional certification through the District’s construction or welding program,” Porter said.

However, comparable courses for wildlife and fisheries are not readily available, Porter said.

While the district may have the best interest of students in mind, some aren’t happy about the pending changes.

Alex Jurica graduated from Ridge Point High School where she took agriculture sciences classes, which inspired her to pursue a degree in agriculture science at Texas A&M University.

Those agricultural-based classes teach you where meat comes from, where your food comes from,”Juric told KPRC. “They prepare you to get a job and be professional.”

Students who participate in many of these agriculture programs have credited the program with teaching them greater responsibility, especially when it comes to working on team projects in fabrication, as well as projects related to livestock, farming or other projects

Students who could be affected by the change are gearing up for the local livestock shows in the Houston area as well as the Houston Livestock Show in March, often rely on the sale of those projects to earn scholarship money for college.

Kimberly Hinojosa, who has a junior agriculture student at Ridge Point High School, said the change will have an impact on her child class choices next year.

“She will be limited to what she can take through agriculture,” she said.

Image: Caleb Feese via Flickr