Southeast Missouri group sets goals to help students through school

Members of the business and education communities have been working for a year to form a network to support students' progress through the education system.

The P-20 Council of Southeast Missouri met Friday to set goals for the region, including ways to nurture young business people.

The group has been recruiting volunteers and approaching businesses about the project. The goal of the daylong meeting was to establish goals to move the group forward, said Missy Marshall, executive director of the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce.

"I don't want to have this discussion a year from now," said Marshall, co-chair of the group. "I want to have solutions in place."

The council formed in July 2008 as the Business-Education Network of Southeast Missouri, but later changed its name. It is modeled after the statewide P-20 Council formed in 2006 and includes 23 counties throughout the region. Similar councils have popped up nationwide to ensure a smooth transition through the education system from preschool to the college years.

A unified effort in Southeast Missouri will better prepare students for the workforce and encourage economic development within the region, Marshall said.

"Nobody's going to take care of us," Marshall said. "We have to take care of ourselves in Southeast Missouri."

In May, the group held a career fair for eighth grade students in the three Bootheel counties. The group is also looking at adopting a uniform character building program for schools throughout the region so students develop the soft skills required for professional success.

Ed Morrison, a policy adviser with the Purdue Center for Regional Development, and Linda Fowler, president of the Washington D.C.-based organization Regionerate, directed the group through the goal setting process.

Morrison said the biggest goal for the council will be maintaining its network. The collaboration, he said, is a new method of establishing regional strategy that will take effort to continue.

"It's not complex," he said. "In fact, it's very simple, but it's hard."

abusch@semissourian.com

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