THOMASVILLE
The days of getting a well-paying job with just a high-school diploma are over, and Davidson County officials see a new kind of vocational high school as a way to better prepare students for a more competitive global economy.
Yesterday, leaders from Lexington, Thomasville and Davidson County gathered at Davidson County Community College to talk about building a technical high school, also known as a career-academy high school. DavidsonWorks organized the meeting.
The school would take in 600 to 800 students and help prepare them for a career in several industries that are hiring in a souring economy, including health care, and logistics and distribution. The proposal is in its early stages and officials have not figured out where they would get the money to build the school, which could cost at least $25 million. Nor do they have a site.
"I'm ready to move forward, but you have to be careful about what you do and how you do it," said Davidson County Commissioner Max Walser, a former superintendent of Davidson County Schools. "Our commissioners support this, but I don't think we have $50 million right now."
Theresa Reynolds, the senior vice president of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, said that the idea came out of a DavidsonWorks committee, which brought it to the partnership, she said.
The career academy fits into a vision plan that the partnership approved in 2005. That plan was used to apply for a Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The partnership won the three-year $15 million grant in 2006, which can partly be used to help develop the idea. Grant money was used to identify five industries that are growing -- health care, logistics and distribution, advanced manufacturing, creative enterprises and arts, and entrepreneurship, Reynolds said.
The career academy would be organized around those growth industries, she said. It would have several academies with specific career themes. Students would take the usual academic courses as well as courses that will provide them with technical and other critical skills needed in a particular industry.
Becky Bloxam, the superintendent for Lexington City Schools, said that the career academy represents a way to fill the gap between what educators teach and the real world. Too many leaders are stuck in a time when manufacturing was thriving and students could get a well-paying job with just a high-school diploma, she said.
"We're in this sort of La-La Land where we don't know what we are," she said. "Somebody has to step out and put forth for our kids: ‘This is what's going on,' and ‘This is what's available.'"
Some parents who have heard about the career academy seem to think that it is another kind of vocational school, but it is not, said Fred Mock, the superintendent of Davidson County Schools. "Our ground zero for this is talking to the community," he said.
Another problem is that students who want to go into these industries aren't prepared when they get to college, said Mary Rittling, the president of Davidson County Community College.
Educators have to spend a lot of time teaching students skills that they should have learned in high school, Rittling said.
Barry Sink, the chairman of the education committee for DavidsonWorks, said that the project is conceptual now, and a lot of work must be done before talking about building a school. The first step is making sure that all three school boards support the idea, he said, and he hopes that federal and state money will be available.
Commissioner Billy Joe Kepley said that the county should move ahead with the project.
"I want to keep the pan hot, and sooner or later, we'll have something cooking," he said.
■ Michael Hewlett can be reached at 727-7326 or at mhewlett@wsjournal.com.
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