Hidden on Zumbehl Road, St.  Charles houses Lewis and Clark Career Center, a technical school for students to receive certifications and workers experience for half of their school day. Lewis and Clark houses 15 programs with two more being added next year:

Finding instructors can pose difficulties due to their specialized nature.In the educational job pool, jobs are typically posted on MOreap.net. This is a simple fact that is common knowledge to traditional teachers. However many instructor positions won’t get filled via these sites because many qualified persons don’t know or learn about them in the private sector. 

“We try to… get it out in areas where people might be more prone to look,” said Assistant Director, Dr. Steven Smith. 

After a sudden resignation from the former CCMA instructor in the first semester, the job was posted in various media like indeed and facebook. Mrs.McKinsey DeFilippo filled the position starting second semester. DeFilippo became interested in the position through a facebook group for healthcare workers around the St. Louis area. 

Job postings may be posted on sites like indeed or even facebook groups to generate hits on the application. Hired persons then need to receive a certification through a two-year course. Lewis and Clark recommend to their staff the University of Central Missouri. After the course completion, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issues them a technical teaching certification. 

“The biggest issue we find with people coming in here is the pay scale,” said Smith. 

With being a tech school, the administrators at Lewis and Clarke look for the top instructors to be able to provide their students with the skills and preparation to join the work force.  With many teachers taking a major pay cut by joining Lewis and Clark , the school tries  to provide their staff with benefits that their traditional private trade can’t offer them. The benefits of working atLewis and Clark Career Center that are not common in the private sector are a teacher’s pension, summer break, consistent scheduling, Christmas break, snow days, spring break, and sometimes better insurance and healthcare.

“If programs are no longer becoming [relevant] applicable to what kids are interested in, then we look at that trend over a couple of years.. Sometimes programs have to go away, “ said Smith.

Grayce Perkinson, a District sub who primarily subs as Lewis and Clarke and St. Charles West. Perkinson has been a long term sub for Madeline Gallagher while she’s been on maternity leave. Perkinson was preferred by ‘Mrs G’ as referenced by her class because she has a background in dental hygiene. Perkinson worked in a dental office and attended college for dental hygiene before returning to school to pursue teaching. Perkinson recognizes that there are typically fewer behavioral issues at Lewis and Clark and the students often work more independently.  

“There’s more hands-on time here, rather than seat work time,” Perkinson said.