(Tarkio) — Despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, one KMAland technical college continues to grow.
That’s the message from Tarkio Technology Institute President John Davis, who tells KMA News enrollment at the college has doubled over the past two years, from just one student in 2020 to 12 in the 2020-21 academic year and 24 set to graduate this spring. The growth comes despite what Davis says was skepticism early on to re-imagine Tarkio College, which closed in 1992, with just one student enrolled in a welding program.
“Because there have been multiple efforts to get the school started and have failed, and so we had a lot of people saying ‘oh, I don’t think that’s going to happen,’ and so we said, ‘we have to have a program,'” said Davis. “And so we had it, and did we make money on it–well, no. But, we were fortunate to have a very talented welder, who graduated, immediately was employed, and made a very, very health income.”
Davis says projections for the 2022-23 school year have only gotten bigger and closer to 50-to-60 estimated students.
Davis adds the growth also comes despite him and other staff members not being able to visit high schools due to restrictions with the COVID-19 pandemic. He says he had one staff member on the way to a school when they got the message of schools closing down, cutting off a primary recruitment source.
“And I had to call her back, and tell her ‘don’t go, because they’re not letting anybody in,’ and that was the beginning of COVID, so we went through that year the whole next year where we could not go into schools,” said Davis. “Even as they started to relax some of those things, the last thing they were going to do was let people from outside come in. So we essentially went through the first year and a half and into the second year with no high school contacts.”
Additionally, with opportunities to advertise in the Kansas City and Nebraska areas, Davis says the school’s geographical reach is also growing.
“We were basically coming out of here, but what we’re seeing now is applications out of the Kansas City area, we’re seeing applications up in Iowa, (and) over in eastern Missouri,” said Davis. “And we kind of look at it and say ‘how are you finding this?’ Well, word of mouth is a great advertiser.”
However, Davis says Tarkio Tech is not immune from one struggle of several schools both in KMAland and across the nation–finding teachers.
“They’re basically going to make about $25-30,000 and they’re coming out of an industry where they’re making $50-70,000,” said Davis. “My welding teacher, with his experience, he was making probably somewhere between $80-100,000–for one welding class, he get’s $25,000. It’s hard to get them to come unless they have a passion, or if they’re at a point in their career where they say, ‘I kind of want to slow down and I really like to work with students.'”
Davis says a lot of hard work from his staff members, the ability to now get into high schools, and strong faith in God have all been instrumental in seeing the school prosper.
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