Education

Education and training are essential to maintain and improve economic growth and stability in the area.  Few young people past school age remain in the area.  But most of those who do are school dropouts.  

Lack of funding for education has become a serious problem for rural Missouri.  A recent court-mandated reduction of monetary support for rural school districts has created a conflict between quality education and budgetary constraints.

Significant opportunities exist to remedy this situation, including upgrading the telecommunications system to provide interactive instruction, teacher sharing, and improvement of the vocational technical education centers.

Increased funding for adult literacy programs, improvements in high school, post secondary, and vocational curricula would greatly benefit the workforce of the area.

Establishing apprenticeship and mentoring programs would allow many students to make the transition into specialized employment, and to provide positive reinforcement from business leaders to remain in school.  A retraining program for displaced workers, or those just entering the job market, would also provide opportunities for increasing the earning power of the residents.

Alternative sources of funding and support must be identified to meet an increasing demand for training and retaining programs.  In addition, counseling facilities for juveniles and at-risk youth would benefit all communities.

RC&D Goal:

All residents will have access to education and training programs to equip them with the skills necessary to become and remain productive members of the workforce.

Strategies: 
bulletEstablish an RC&D Task Force on Education, made up of representatives of all levels of education and local groups, to support education and training programs.
bulletDevelop a plan to improve high school completion rates, improve vocational technical curricula at the secondary and post-secondary levels, increase participation in vocational technical training, enhance the at-risk youth programs, and promote funding increases for public education. 
bulletResearch existing youth apprenticeship programs in other states to help develop such programs locally.
bulletAssist public schools in improving the basic skills and Adult Basic Education programs in the area. 
bulletProvide specialized short-term training courses, such as entrepreneurship and training for day care workers.
bulletProvide financial assistance through grant awards and volunteer labor to carry out education objectives and the coordination of resources in the community.
bulletImplement a program in the area which matches youth with employers who will provide job opportunities. 

Latest Revision: Wednesday September 23, 2009 09:56:10 AM