<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/extra.gif" border=0>Franklin Tech students showcase their talents<font color="#ff0000"> w/ slide show</font>

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February 10, 2010

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Wed Feb 10, 2010, 08:05 AM CST

By Greg Grisolano

ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com

This is not your father’s shop class.

Good thing, too. Because this is not your father’s economy.

“With the way this economy is now, you’ve got to have a specific skill just to get anywhere,” said Samuel Wannall, a Webb City senior who is taking classes in heating, ventilation and air conditioning at Franklin Technology Center.

HVAC is one of many programs offered to students and adults through Franklin Tech, 2020 S. Iowa Ave., just west of Joplin High School, and also on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.

Wannall is one of 338 high-school students who hope a practical, hands-on technical education will give them an advantage upon entering a contracting job market.

Wannall also was among dozens of students whose skills were on display Tuesday during Franklin Tech’s annual Student Showcase.

David Rockers, director of Franklin Tech, said the programs are targeted for juniors and seniors who will seek entry-level employment or who may want to further their education after graduation. The goal is to prepare students and adults for careers so they can go to work immediately when they graduate.

But Rockers also wants those students to be ready for college.

‘Old mindset’

“The old mindset for a vocational school was it was for the students who weren’t going to college,” Rockers said. “That couldn’t be further from the truth now. In the last 15 years, it has changed a lot. Roughly 60 percent of our graduates will go on to school somewhere. Now 20 years ago, we’d have probably had 50 to 60 percent of our grads go right to work.”

Rockers said Franklin Tech offers technical training in a variety of fields, including the traditional — welding, wood shop and automotive repair — as well as culinary arts, engineering, health care and information technologies.

A total of 338 students are enrolled at Franklin Tech this semester, Rockers said. The students also are enrolled at one of seven area high schools: Carl Junction, College Heights, Diamond, Joplin, McAuley Catholic, Sarcoxie and Webb City. Between 200 and 250 adults also take classes through Franklin Tech.

“Our accountability here is placement, so we want to make sure we get students in the right programs,” Rockers said. “We work with all the counselors from sending schools and try to get the right fit.”

He said the “positive placement rate” — referring to graduates who have gone on to college, into the military or into the career field for which they trained — is around 80 percent. The overall placement rate for graduates, including those who have gone into fields for which they did not train, is 92 percent. He said that number may have slipped some with the recent economy.

Rockers said the center has seen a boost in its adult enrollment for evening classes and job retraining in the current economy.

Growth

Franklin Tech has undergone three expansions since it was built in 1966, and Rockers said there is no more room to grow, even though there is a need for additional programs.

The Joplin school board in 2008 authorized up to $3 million if matching state money could be found, making for a $6 million expansion possibility. But so far that has not come through, and Rockers doesn’t see it happening anytime soon.

He said there is a need for a diesel mechanics program, as well as for public safety training — emergency medical technicians, firefighters and law enforcement personnel.

“They are all considered pretty high demand,” he said.

Vanessa Albrecht, a senior at Joplin High School, said the training she has received at Franklin Tech has opened her eyes.

She is finishing up her second year in the engineering graphics program. She initially enrolled because her goal was to become an architect.

“Since the opportunity was given to me to come to Franklin Tech, I decided to seize it,” she said. “It’s kind of ironic because I switched my major to psychology, but in the end this has helped me out a great deal. I wanted to become an architect, and I got to see the processes that go with that. I noticed that it’s not for me, but it’s still a great opportunity to see how everything works.”

Proclamation

During a ceremony Tuesday at Franklin Technology Center, Joplin Mayor Gary Shaw proclaimed Feb. 7-13 as Skills USA Week.

Skills USA is a national organization preparing students for technical and service careers.