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Advocate editorial board opinion: Community can help education succeed

  • By the Advocate Editorial Board
  • Originally published May 22, 2012 at 6:15 p.m., updated May 22, 2012 at 6:15 p.m.

Education has a nearly unquantifiable value in life. Its value cannot be measured in money invested, hours spent studying or even in drops of blood, sweat and effort. If there is any way to measure education, it is in the effects, changes and progress it gives those who reach for it and support it in others.

We are proud that Victoria voters seem to understand this and approved the Victoria College bond by an overwhelming 66 percent, which VC President Tom Butler called a real vote of confidence. The bond will be used to build an Emerging Technology Center, which Butler says will be used to train a competitive workforce for the industrial companies coming to Victoria. Butler also says, provided everything proceeds according to plan, the center will be be finished after 18 months at the earliest.

There is a shortage of skilled workers across the nation. And we applaud Victoria College for being part of the solution by taking a proactive approach to education. Their commitment to training the workforce of tomorrow will be an amazing boon to the Victoria economy, both by increasing the area's skilled workforce, but also by providing an incentive for businesses to come to Victoria. Businesses are much more likely to choose a town that has a trained workforce readily available, rather than a place where they must bring workers in from the outside.

And it is this proactive stance that we would like to see the rest of the community imitate. Last month, the Victoria Independent School District started a community involvement project, which developed seven items to focus on. The Victoria Advocate is also developing a project that will focus on building community support for education. These are long-term projects that will require a large support base from the community to be successful.

What can you do to support education in Victoria? There is something everyone can do, if they are willing to give a bit of their time to invest in the next generation. Perhaps churches can offer weekly tutoring sessions to struggling students. A group of local businesses could form to create a scholarship fund or participate in field trips and career day events to help students decide where they want to go in life. People familiar with Spanish or other foreign languages can tutor students in the English as a Second Language program. There are many creative ways any member of the community can contribute to the education systems in Victoria, if they are only willing to invest the time.

Victoria has an amazing higher education system, for its size. But we would love to see the support shown for Victoria College in the recent election extend to younger students in VISD and other schools as well. Community support could be one of the crucial ingredients to see our local schools reach a whole new level of progress. Will you take the time to find a way to make a difference? We hope you will.

This editorial reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate's editorial board.