Spoon River College President Curt Oldfield said he is especially proud of the investment the college made in career and technical education with its new Macomb campus.
“As our community grows and develops in the future, those hands-on jobs are going to be vital for the economy of the Macomb area,” Oldfield said. “Spoon River College wants to be a vital partner in creating that workforce of the future.”
He said the community college has been engaged in ongoing talks to create a regional CTE program for high school students.
Macomb School District 185 Superintendent Patrick Twomey said last month that there have been productive meetings involving SRC, the Macomb, West Prairie, and Bushnell-Prairie City school districts, the city of Macomb, and the Macomb Area Economic Development Corporation.
“It’s really now a matter of that group continuing to meet and really honing in on how much space we need, what will be our first opportunities that we can put in front of kids,” Twomey said.
Twomey said they’re still discussing how much space will be needed for a high school CTE program, how much it will cost to build facilities, and whether grant money will be available to help pay for construction.
The Macomb district is interested in building CTE classrooms at its high school, but SRC could also host some or all of the program.
The community college will soon begin construction on a couple CTE classrooms at the its new campus. Oldfield anticipates they will be ready for the start of classes next fall.
He envisions a collaborative CTE program involving all of the region’s schools.
“K-12 partners, community college, and Western Illinois all working together to help move the workforce forward for the future,” Oldfield said.
He said they could partner with building trades or other professionals who could teach or help develop curriculum for the program.
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