The Picayune School District’s Career and Technology Center is an extension of Picayune Memorial High School that offers nine programs; business, marketing and finance, health science, sports medicine, architecture drafting, engineering, carpentry, early childhood care and family consumer science.

It’s a two-year program where students can earn credits towards graduation.

The three most popular classes are business marketing and finance, health science and early childhood care.

The Career and Technology Center’s goal is to provide students with Career and Technology Education diplomas. Starting this year, students will take Industry Certification tests. Passing this test will earn them certification in the their field of study.

To ensure the success of these students, the Picayune School District is looking for business and industry professionals to volunteer as advisory committee members. The volunteers will advise, advocate and assist students in the programs so the goal is for each program to have its own advisory member. Health science has partnered with local hospitals and nursing homes in the past.

Some of the programs are short on necessary equipment, so advisory members can help by offering and teaching about up-to-date equipment.

“Sports medicine has a lot of hand-me-down equipment,” said Career and Technology Center Director Jill Smith. She is currently in the process of writing a grant to get new equipment for the program.

The classes at the Career and Technology Center offer more one-on-one learning experiences.

“Its not laid back, but it is a light weight environment,” said Smith.

The classes are much more career based, and as such offer skilled classes like automotive repair, engineering and carpentry, which are primarily hands-on classes leading to 95 percent of the grade being participation based.

 

Smith would like to see more students enroll in classes offered at the Career and Technology Center.

“We would like the advisories to help grow our enrollment,” said Smith.

She also wants to see more community and student awareness of the programs offered at the center. Twice a year students tour the center and its programs but Smith still would like more involvement.