LCSD Breaks Ground on New CTE Center

By D’Courtland Christian

The Meridian Star

Lauderdale County School District (LCSD) leaders hosted a groundbreaking for a new career and technical education center in the fall.

“I’m really excited about the participation we had in our groundbreaking ceremony,” said Rob Smith, the center’s director. “Having all these people here just shows the community support that we have going into this project.

“I hope that with this new center, we can help correct the issue with students who decide not to attend college and help them have the skills to ob- tain high-wage jobs in our area,” Smith emphasized.

Prior to coming to LCSD, Smith was the longtime director for the Ross Collins Career and Technical Center on the Meridian High School campus. He explained that the new center will not duplicate the programs at Ross Collins, but will be an expansion.

“We’ll potentially have some programs duplicated for those in high demand, but we plan to put in new programs that could be offered to MHS students. And just as the county goes to Ross Collins, now we’ll have an open invitation for Meridian to come to our center as well,” he added.

Superintendent JohnMark Cain said he was grateful for the support from local industry, educational leaders, and state leaders in attendance.

“I believe this demonstrates the fact that this area is hungry for us to provide more workforce and career technical education for our students,” Cain said.

“The goal is to expose our students to more. Not everyone is interested in being a student at the post-secondary level, so let’s introduce them to more careers. Hopefully, we can help create an additional workforce right here in Lauderdale County.”