This photo of the new Vocational Technical School on North Clark behind Central High School ran in The Missourian’s 1968 Achievement Edition. The story said 306 students were attending classes there: 300 who were taking some training at Central High School and six who were going to Campus School. There were 206 adults, including both men and women, taking classes in the evening. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)
Drafting room considered best in state
The drafting room was considered to be the best of any school in Missouri. I wonder how it would compare with this one in Central Junior High School (our old Central).
Here are photos of automobile training being handled at Central High school.
Teacher pay below national and state averages
Voters were going to be asked to approve a 35-cent tax levy in the April elections. Supt. Charles E. House said that Missouri teacher salaries were below the national average, and that Cape salaries were below the state average. A graduate of State College with a degree in education and no experience could expect a salary of $5,100 in Cape. The median outside the area would be $5,467; the average would be even higher.
Of course, putting it in perspective, in 1968 I thought that if I ever made $10,000 a year I’d be having caviar and lobster every night.
Looking at the new drafting room in the Junior High, I notice that they have the “old technology” T-squares and not the nice drafting machines that we had in drafting class at the old Senior High ca. 1971-2. The lighting may be better and the work surfaces larger, but I would posit that the old classroom had more “modern” equipment. Dub Varnon was the teacher back then.
That’s OK. This is a junior high, remember. When they get to high school, they’ll move to AutoCAD. I was fairly proficient at CAD, but would have flunked out of mechanical drawing. It was too close to art.
Wow, your picture broght back great memories of how it looked when brand new. I was one of the lucky teachers to be there when it opened. It has definitely changed since it became the Board of Education office bldg. However, (Vo-Tech) Career Center is very much thriving in the current location. Hooray for all! Love your pictures/articles.