Always Prospering
As Missouri's governor, education is my highest priority. We have laid the groundwork for future generations by significantly increasing funding for elementary and secondary classrooms as well as higher education.
Our investments in education have the potential to make our state even stronger with the creation of a new system focusing on pre-school through graduate school known as P-20 education.
P-20 is a comprehensive approach, aligning each level of education – preschool, elementary, middle school, high school, two and four your colleges and post-graduate education as well as workforce training - in an effort to better prepare our students. This effort was largely uncoordinated before I was elected governor.
To address this lack of coordination, I signed legislation last year to create the Missouri P-20 Council. The Council consists of the state's two education agencies – the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Higher Education (DHE); and unlike many states, the Department of Economic Development (DED) the agency with primary responsibility for meeting the needs of business and industry.
The job of the Council is to provide better, stronger, more aligned education and workforce training systems. This alignment of systems and programs will make it easier for all Missourians to get the skills and education they need to compete in an increasingly competitive, global economy.
Governor Matt Blunt
