A pilot project aimed at offering high school students better real world experience has begun enrollment for its first two course strands.
The Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (GO CAPS) is now seeking students for its Engineering and Manufacturing strand, as well as Medicine and Health Care. The program, announced in February, is being managed by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. It will feature students from 11 area school districts who, beginning this fall, will meet for 2.5 hour blocks at business locations in Springfield, receiving both high school and college credit. The chamber says GO CAPS is designed to expose students to the wide variety of career and post-secondary educational pathways that exist within the Springfield region.
A dozen businesses have signed on for the program’s Engineering and Manufacturing strand, and at least five will participate in the Medicine and Health Care strand.
Workforce development is a major area of focus for the chamber, which said in announcing the program this year that its members have increasingly reported a significant disconnect between the skills and talent available in their rapidly changing workforce needs.
Participating school districts include Bolivar, Logan-Rogersville, Nixa, Willard, Republic, Ozark, Springfield, Strafford, Reeds Spring, Branson, and Monett.
Students in the 11 participating districts interested in taking part in either of the two course strands should contact their school counselor for more information.
About the course strands
Engineering and Manufacturing is designed for students who are interested in engineering and manufacturing fundamentals, entrepreneurship and innovation. To date, business partners include 3M, Central States Industrial Equipment, City Utilities, Conco Companies, CNH Industrial Reman, Custom Metalcraft, Jack Henry and Associates, John Deere Reman, Multi-Craft Contractors, Olsson Associates, SMC Packaging Group, and Springfield Remanufacturing Corp. Students will attend at a classroom in Springfield Remanufacturing Corp. and experience hands-on, active learning with full immersion in real-world projects through curriculum developed by the business partners and GO CAPS instructors.
Medicine and Health Care fully immerses students in the world of medicine and health care, providing unprecedented access to real-world experiences in this dynamic industry. Business partners include Citizens Memorial Hospital, CoxHealth, Housing Plus, LLC, Mercy, and other health and wellness organizations across the region. At the classroom facility in CoxHealth, students will expand upon principles of human physiology through in-depth case studies of body systems. They will develop fluency in basic medical language, formulate treatment plans for patients, and practice physical assessment skills. Students will work alongside a variety of business partners in the region to take what they learn and apply it to real-world problems facing medicine, health and wellness companies.
