ESPY — There’s more to the Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School than autoshop and woodworking. In fact, there’s a lot more.
With an ever-growing curriculum that now includes classes in computer technology, marketing and even health care, more students than ever are flocking to the school, located between Bloomsburg and Berwick. There’s even a waiting list of nearly 200 students to get in.
Why do so many students want to go there? Administrative director Cosmas Curry’s theory: “We’ve hit a point in education where a four-year degree is good for 25 percent of the jobs whereas 55 to 60 percent of the jobs now need technical training and 10 to 15 percent of the jobs have no degree needed. Parents and students see the school as a place to get the best of both worlds — an academic background and a career and a technical background to have the knowledge and skills to perform jobs or if they want to go to college,” he said.
Danville students make up the second highest number of students attending the school, with a 20 percent jump in just the past four years. Danville has 120 students enrolled, up from about 100 in 2004.
The school has a great success rate with 75 percent of students finding jobs immediately after graduation. Students from the school’s computer technology, draft and design programs are most likely to further their education, Curry said.
Programs where there is a high demand for employees include health occupations, automotive technicians, computer technology, electricians and carpentry and construction. “These are jobs where they can earn a living to sustain a family, and in most cases, the jobs can’t be outsourced,” Curry said.
Danville school board member Steve Schooley attributed a large part of the school’s success to partnerships with local firms, including heating and ventilation contractors, welding shops, auto repair garages, electrical contractors and floral retailers.
“They (graduates) are high in demand. Another big plus is that many students graduate with various certifications which make the students more marketable after graduation,” he said.
Students in health occupations graduate as certified nursing assistants. Auto technician graduates are certified by the National Auto Technicians Educational Foundation, and electrical program graduates are certified by the Association of Builders and Contractors.
As for computer technicians, they are needed in a variety of areas. Curry said those jobs pay anywhere from $25,000 to $60,000 a year, depending upon where the graduate goes.
With electrical program graduates, they can get jobs in industry or as power transmission installers. Or, “they can enter the workforce at power plants and help fill the void of a workforce that may be retiring soon,” he said.
Vo-tech students go full-time in ninth through 12th grades. As freshmen, students are enrolled in an exploratory program where they go through four different programs throughout the year. The next year, they choose their major and focus on that through graduation.
The school’s programs are automotive repair and refinishing, automotive technology, machining technology, welding technology, computer technology, drafting and design technology, electronics technology, printing technology, cosmetology, food preparation, health occupations, horticulture and floriculture, travel, lodging and marketing careers, building trades maintenance, carpentry and construction, electrical occupations and plumbing, heating and air conditioning.
The school also conducts educational programs for adults.
The Danville Area School District is paying $1.4 million as its share of the $6.6 million vo-tech budget for 2007-08.
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