Tuesday, the Picayune School Board of Trustees approved a motion to establish a new program at the District’s Career and Technology Center, sports medicine.

This program will replace the proposed culinary arts program.

While culinary arts would have been a worthwhile addition to the center’s programs, it was determined to be cost prohibitive in the Picayune School District, costing in excess of $200,000 just to buy the necessary equipment.

That doesn’t mean the district is picking up a lesser program just to save a few bucks.

Sports medicine is an emerging field providing college graduates with an avenue to enter a career that could not only provide a living wage, but meet a demand in the region, said Career and Technology Director Jouan Lee. 

What some county residents may not have known is the school already provides a glimpse into such a class. Attendees of football games at Picayune Memorial High School have probably noticed several students rendering aid to injured players on their own time.

That effort didn’t provide class credits, but those students received some sports medicine experience.

When this program is officially established, the students could potentially use what they learned in class and continue to provide aid on the sidelines.

By establishing a structured course that could spur these students to seek the proper degree, our local school is doing its part to provide an avenue for our students to not only find a career they would be interested in, but seek that livelihood close to home.

With so many of our students moving away to find gainful employment, we need more of these kinds of programs to provide training.

And ultimately, the programs offered at the Career and Technology Center, combined with those offered at Pearl River Community College, could ultimately attract more industry to the area.

It is our hope this program will be a great success, and potentially lead to others like it.