Dexter R-XI students will now join eight other school districts — and Westwood Baptist Academy — sending students to the Poplar Bluff Technical Career Center.
The State Board of Education approved the switch from the Sikeston R-VI Career and Technology Center on Thursday morning as part of the consent agenda.
In October, the Dexter school board voted to make the request after expressing concerns about communication and programming at the Sikeston location.
During the board meeting, Superintendent C.A. Counts described the Poplar Bluff facility as leaps and bounds ahead of the Sikeston facility.
The Dexter school board sent a letter to the state to request approval for the move, accompanied by a letter from Poplar Bluff R-I to support accepting the students.
“The Poplar Bluff Technical Career Center and Poplar Bluff R-I schools are excited to welcome Dexter to our consortium and we look forward to a long and beneficial relationship,” said Charles Kinsey, TCC director.
Dexter High School Principal Alana Dowdy, who has toured TCC, said the programs impressed her and the leadership and investment Kinsey has in the facility.
“I’m just very impressed by the quality of the programs. The instructors and Mr. Kinsey’s knowledge of what is available for students was very impressive to me,” she said. “Mr. Kinsey’s already been here, and he spoke with every eighth grader, every freshman, every sophomore and any juniors who are interested. He came and spoke to all of those students during the school day. I think that shows so much effort on his part to get younger kids interested in looking forward to planning for trade school.”
About 20 Dexter students are attending classes at the Sikeston Career and Technology Center. Dowdy said she hopes the move will help prompt more students to take part in the program.
“We’re really looking to increase that with the additional program offerings available at Poplar Bluff,” she said.
Some of these programs include the Project Lead the Way computer science courses — which TCC started offering this year — the HVAC program, a one-year nursing program, and the cosmetology program.
TCC accepts students from Poplar Bluff R-I, East Carter, Greenville, Puxico, Southern Reynolds, Twin Rivers, Van Buren and Zalma school districts. This year, the list also extended to include Westwood Baptist Academy. Dexter students will start there with the 2020-21 school year.
“I was able to tour the facility and have quite a few discussions with Mr. Kinsey. I was just very impressed with his extensive knowledge of his programs and his students,” Dowdy said. “I felt it was just a great fit for Dexter.”