For many, earning a diploma or degree is not far away.

But for some of our county’s residents, reaching that point is a bit more of a challenge. Some of the young adults may need extra tutoring, a prep course to get the best score on their ACT or maybe they just need to brush up on their English since they speak another language.

Starting this year grant funding has allowed the Picayune School District’s Adult Education program to expand those services to people of all ages.

While GED programs have been available in this area for some time, there weren’t publicly known avenues to build upon literacy and English speaking skills until now.

Getting the best education possible leads to so many opportunities.

Not only does it help people find better paying jobs, it helps build the tax base, which can lead to better infrastructure.

By improving the infrastructure, we can begin to attract more companies to the area, which will promote the economic sector.

And as that sector continues to grow, so too will our population.

The cycle goes on and on.

It’s been said by many local leaders that economic development is their primary goal upon taking office.

But they can’t do it alone.

In order to get there we need to teach our children that their best avenue to succeed is to become as educated as possible. And that doesn’t mean they have to attend a four-year college.

There are many high paying jobs that can be obtained with specialized training that takes much less time.

We support the local school district’s effort to provide more opportunities for everyone to learn as much as they can.