South Tech teaches career skills

Jasper Winterton
Feature Editor

“I know tons of people that have taken Spanish all four years of high school and can’t speak a lick of it. South Tech’s not like that,” Tony DeArmitt, junior, said.

DeArmitt has been enrolled in South Technical High School since the start of his junior year, where he has been learning construction.

“It doesn’t cost a cent either; it’s all funded by the Special School District,” DeArmitt said.

Barb Smith, counseling secretary, said South Tech is a Special School District school, and the tuition is free.

According to the South Tech official website, the school works with different businesses and industry partners that help provide students with a number of opportunities including internships, apprenticeships, mentorships, part-time employment, full-time employment offers for after high school and scholarships.

“A high school diploma shows an employer you have the ability to put your head down, swallow your pride and do meaningless sludge for eight hours a day. It’s proof of being able to do things you don’t want [to do],” DeArmitt said.

The school offers 24 different programs: auto collision repair, automotive technology, carpentry, CISCO Networking Academy, construction innovations, construction trades, cosmetology, culinary arts, dental sciences, design and entrepreneurship, early childhood education, electrical trades, electronics and robotics, firefighting and EMT, Floor Layers middle apprenticeship, graphic design, health sciences, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, law enforcement, pharmacy sciences, precision machining, veterinary assistant, web and computer programming, and welding.

To enroll at South Tech, students must be either a junior or senior and fit certain criteria surrounding the high school credits a student has earned. Students can view the criteria, programs, and apply to enroll at https://www.ssdmo.org/Page/623 on South Tech’s website.