AREA IN ENVIABLE POSITION ON VO-TECH EDUCATION

Vocational-technical educators gathered at Springfield, Mo., last week to discuss the future of vo-tech education in Missouri, and one of their main concerns was a failure to meet the growing demand for vo-tech education.

Not every high-school graduate attends college, and without some formal training in skills beyond high school it is difficult for many to find good-paying jobs. That is where vo-tech education can help.

School districts have fallen behind in providing the facilities for the additional training. One way of trying to meet the demand is by teaming up with community colleges and vocational schools to offer state-of-the-art facilities, which many districts have done.

While other districts grapple with how to handle the 300,000 students in Missouri who turn to vo-tech education each year, the Cape Girardeau area is in an enviable position. A new vo-tech center opens here in the fall and will accommodate students from Cape Girardeau and surrounding districts far into the future, thanks to the farsightedness of school administrators and taxpayers who realized the need to meet the demand.