Macomb School District 185 opened its new middle school less than two years ago. Now it might build another new building – a career technical education center for high school students.
Superintendent Patrick Twomey said the center would benefit students who plan to work in a trade after graduating and need hands-on skills.
“When they do leave high school, if they’re going into the workforce, or even if they’re going into a junior college for a specific skill, we can prepare them at a much higher level than we’ve done in the past,” he said.
The board of education this week directed Twomey to come up with a plan to pay for the project. He believes much of the money could come through a fundraising campaign targeting certain industries.
How much it might cost is not yet known.
Twomey said the facility could provide training for a wide variety of occupations, such as plumbers, electricians, mechanics, auto body repair, and even positions in the healthcare industry.
He plans to get together with community stakeholders to find out what local businesses need.
“You ought to be preparing kids for real life opportunities that exist right there in your area,” he said.
“In my mind, in a true career technical education center, we could work (for example) with Pella and NTN Bower and we could train students.”
Twomey also said the training could encourage students to stay in Macomb after they graduate from high school.
His preference is to build the center on or near the high school campus.
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