VO-TECH SCHOOL PROGRAM GETS BOOST IN FORM OF $84,000 GRANT

The offset printing technology program at the Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School received almost $84,000 in grant money to improve the program.

Tim Pensel, who has been teaching the printing program for 16 years, applied for the grant from Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Pensel used the money to purchase state-of-the art equipment for students, who operate a print shop for the Cape Girardeau school district as part of their training.

Harold Tilley, director of the vocational school, said enhancement grants are awarded for items the state education department targets as growth areas as part of Senate Bill 380.

The money is available to improve technology and update equipment in those targeted areas, among them offset printing.

Tilley said graduates of the program are in high demand. Over the summer, half a dozen employers called looking for graduates, but none were available.

The grant, Tilley said, should help attract more students to the course.

Pensel said, "Technology has changed so much in the past 10 to 20 years."

Today, for example, students design printing jobs with computerized desktop publishing systems.

The whole process from idea to finished product got a boost through the grant. Pensel bought a new duplicator, an envelop feeder, a collator, a paper cutter, a paper folder, seven computers and even new stools.

The room has been painted and new ceiling and floor tile installed.

The vocational school's printing program is a two-year course. High school students who complete the program qualify, at no cost, for 23 hours of college credit through Mineral Area College. Students also are qualified for an entry level job in the printing industry.

During the first year, students learn to design and print business cards, forms and brochures. During the second year, students run an in-house print shop for the school with live jobs.

The work environment is so real, Pensel said he has to constantly remember that the goal is educating students, not just running a print shop.

But students benefit from the real-world exposure the print shop offers, he said.

"They take more pride in their work when it is something that actually will be used," Pensel said.