Why the mobile tech lab is a great investment for Door County

For the last three decades American high school education has been judged almost solely on college prep, from the Presidential level on down to the kitchen table. Yet still less than 35 percent of Americans hold a four-year degree, and just 56 percent of students who begin a four-year program will complete it. It begs the question, if our system is geared overwhelmingly toward college prep, what are we doing for the rest of our students?

Well, the Door/Kewaunee Business & Education Partnership is stepping in. Each year it manages the High School Home Construction program, in which students from Door and Kewaunee high schools get on-the-job experience building a home under the guidance of area professionals. Now they’ve partnered with schools, manufacturers, and the Door County Economic Development Corporation to bring a mobile technology training lab to Door and Kewaunee counties to provide advanced training that area manufacturers have clamored for.

A recent analysis by the Harvard Graduate School of Education shows that if the top 1 percent of wage earners are taken out of the mix, a two-year technical degree, on average, is often more valuable than a four-year degree. That’s more evidence that the DKBEP’s mobile lab effort may provide more than education for peninsula students, but may be a great investment in the region.