Pearl River County students are fortunate that all three school districts offer programs that allow them exposure to potential career paths and provide real world experience.

The districts provide these opportunities to students through vocational technology programs.

Students at Pearl River Central are offered classes focusing on health science, business and computer technology, agriculture, meat cutting and early childhood education. At Picayune’s Career and Technical Center, students can choose to take health science, business and mechanical courses, just to name a few. Some of the course opportunities at the Poplarville Career Development Center include hospitality, tourism, marketing and audio/video technology.

Taking vocational technology courses allows students to explore potential choices before entering college.

The students can see if the profession they are considering is right for them. If it isn’t, they are able to save themselves thousands of dollars and lots of time on college courses.

Some students may think they want to go into the medical field but only after two or three                                                                                    years of college classes are they able to get hands on experience to find out for sure. If the student is lucky, they will discover the field suits them, but for many, they will discover that it is not, and they have to start over from scratch.

The school districts have also been fortunate to have community partners that provide students with first hand experience before they leave high school. Without those community partners, students wouldn’t receive the benefits of a vocational technology program.

All three school districts should be commended for their continued effort in maintaining and improving their vocational technology programs.