The Natchez-Adams School District took more than a baby step in the right direction when it recently reincorporated its daycare learning environment for students.

The hands-on learning program for students enrolled in early childhood education classes has been added back to the curriculum offered at the Fallin Career and Technology Center after being gone for two years.

The two-year course offers students the chance to learn about childcare, child development and how to create safe learning environments for young children.

The daycare is a learning laboratory for students who are considering a future in childcare. High schoolers apply what they learn in the classroom in a supervised daycare for pre-kindergarten and Head Start students.

The decision to return the daycare to the Fallin Center makes sense in light of recent discussions about the importance of reinstituting vocational and technical programs.

Many of the candidates in this year’s Adams County election made campaign promises to return such programs to the school district.

In recent years, the school district has focused a lot of energy on providing students with a way to earn college credit and a high school diploma at the same time. For some students, this career path makes sense.

For students who do not plan to seek a college degree, vocational training offers them a way to learn a variety of skills that can be directly applied to existing employment opportunities in the community. In many cases, such training can lead to future jobs that are high-paying and secure.

The reintroduction of the daycare to the Fallin program is one step toward offering students a multitude of career paths from which to choose.

We look forward to the addition of more programs and the reinvigoration of vocational and technical education in Natchez and Adams County.