VIDALIA, La. – Almost 200 students in Vidalia and Ferriday alone have signed up to participate in a Job Shadowing Day Feb. 2.

But teachers in charge of the program said Wednesday that they are having trouble finding local businesspeople willing to let students &uot;shadow&uot; them to see what their jobs involve. &uot;We’re sending out a plea to the public,&uot; said Sarah Cotton, a reading teacher in charge of the job shadowing program at Vidalia Junior High. That school has 95 students participating.

&uot;It costs (businesspeople) nothing more than a little of their time,&uot; she said, adding students have to spend at least three hours with the businessperson that day.

Concordia Parish schools need people in a wide variety of occupations to take part, including doctors, nurses, veterinarians, lawyers, judges, salespeople, cashiers, engineers and teachers. &uot;If people realized what they were doing for these students by participating, we wouldn’t trouble placing these students,&uot; said family and consumer sciences teacher Claudia White, who is heading the program at Ferriday Junior High.

That school has 53 students participating. Monterey High School has 44 students participating, but 35 have already been placed by matching them with relatives.

In Adams County, the Schools to Career partnership is still accepting business participants for the job shadowing program. More than 250 ninth-graders from Natchez High participated in the program last year, shadowing professionals throughout the day. This year, the goal is to place 350 freshmen with job shadowing partners. Any businesses or individuals interested in participating can contact Cynthia Parker Brumfield at the EDA office at 445-0288. For more information visit the Web site http://schooltocareers.natchez.ms.us.