SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO-AM) The Obama Administration has sent a 'gender equity' directive to technical schools nationwide to try to beef up the number of women plumbers, electricians and similar trades.
Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls has tried for decades to encourage more women to apply for these programs, but with little success. Never more than a handful of women have ever taken such courses.
"The letter is really nothing new," says STI's Director of Students, Jim Rokusek, "I wish they'd have some concrete ideas, or some money to put on some programs or bring students in, would have been beneficial."
Rokusek says STI would love to have more women in its construction trade classes and has reached out to the community in many ways. But Rokusek thinks the focus should be in middle school, reaching out to young girls about the advantages of a career in the trades.
And it works both ways.
"You look at elementary education teachers, very few men. Why is that, why don't they want to teach the younger kids?" wonders Rokusek.
The U.S. Department of Education letter encourages schools to work harder to solve gender percentage gaps in their classrooms, but without really sharing any specific ideas about how to do it.
This is the second directive to schools nationwide from the Obama Administration recently on a gender-related issue. The transgender bathroom directive caused serious pushback. Several states, including South Dakota, plan to challenge it in court.