About 80 high school students will start learning to draw blood, perform EKGs and remove sutures this fall in a new medical assisting lab at South Miami Senior High School.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools unveiled the Career Dual Enrollment Medical Assisting Lab at a ribbon-cutting Monday at South Miami Senior High. The lab, built in partnership with South Dade Technical College, replaces what had been a theory-only program with a full clinic and classroom where students practice real clinical procedures on modern equipment.

"Last year we did not have this wonderful lab," said Griselle Torres, the program's medical assisting instructor from South Dade Technical College, who has 30 years of industry experience. "Now students can perform hands-on medical assisting procedures like suture removal, burn care, wound care and vital signs."

The four-year curriculum runs from ninth grade through senior year. Each semester, students take specialized courses covering clinical procedures, administrative health care functions and training with medical equipment. Skills include taking vital signs, drawing blood, performing EKGs, administering injections and assisting physicians with advanced procedures. At the end of the program, students sit for a state certification exam. Those who pass are eligible for immediate employment as medical assistants.

Incoming 10th grader Enzo Ramirez, who attended the ribbon-cutting, said the old program was "mostly theory," but now students will use stethoscopes, take blood pressure and draw blood in the new lab.

School Board Chair Mari Tere Rojas attended the ceremony alongside Assistant Superintendent René Mantilla, who oversees postsecondary career and technical education for M-DCPS. Mantilla said the partnership gives students the skills and opportunities to become certified and work in health care, which he called an industry "not only in demand but critical to our community." Principal Herbert Penton and South Dade Technical College Director Llennery Pena also attended.

About 80 students will be enrolled when the school year begins, according to the district. South Miami Senior High draws from the M-DCPS south region, which includes Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay feeder patterns. South Dade Technical College, based in Homestead, is one of seven M-DCPS technical colleges.

The 2026-2027 school year begins Thursday, Aug. 13, according to the district calendar. Families interested in M-DCPS dual-enrollment and career programs can find information at dadeschools.net.