About SoMoTech
The Southern Missouri Technical Institute (SoMoTech) is one of Missouri's leading area career and technical schools serving secondary and adult students. SoMoTech provides quality programs and increasing numbers of student winners in district, state, and national contests in all areas. It also provides quality education and occupational skills training that business and industry expect in their employees. Located in West Plains, Missouri, since 1970, SoMoTech has been a valuable resource to the community. SoMoTech students are prepared with the skills, academic foundation, leadership, and flexibility to be competitive. The workforce of tomorrow needs to be ready to adapt to a constantly changing world of rapid technological advances and new ideas. SoMoTech education prepares students for a variety of postsecondary options, including higher education, skilled employment, and lifelong learning.
To prepare students for numerous career options, instructors utilize industry standards and advanced training equipment. Academic preparation is a critical component of the SoMoTech student’s career development plan. Success and upward mobility in careers is highly dependent upon the ability to be both academically and technically proficient. A strong academic foundation is important in learning the increasingly complex technical skills required by today’s workforce. Student learning styles differ and call for a variety of strategies to successfully teach and learn academic and technical subject matter. Instructors and staff at SoMoTech strive to set an example for every individual and foster leadership, service, and teamwork.
As its mission states, SoMoTech is in the business of “developing a high-quality workforce”. Through efforts and local partnerships, SoMoTech is constantly making strides toward meeting that mission.
The West Plains School District, in cooperation with twelve other school districts, supports and operates the school. The participating school districts are Alton, Bakersfield, Dora, Gainesville, Houston, Koshkonong, Lutie, Mountain View-Birch Tree, Summersville, Thayer, Willow Springs, and Winona.
The secondary service area of the Southern Missouri Technical Institute is designed to serve Howell, Oregon, Ozark, and Shannon Counties. The primary adult service area extends fifty miles and includes Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Shannon, and Texas counties in Missouri and Fulton County in Arkansas. The career education programs are offered with the purpose of providing youth and adults with programs of high quality, which are realistic in the light of actual or anticipated opportunities for gainful employment.
Secondary and/or postsecondary programs are offered in Agriculture, Auto Body & Collision Repair, Auto Mechanics Technology, Carpentry, Commercial and Advertising Art, Culinary Arts, Drafting Technology, Electric Line Technology, Family and Consumer Science, Health Sciences, Practical Nursing, Surgical Technology, and Welding. We are also proud to assist with the Project Lead The Way STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) initiative in the West Plains School District. In addition, our facility at 407 W. Thornburgh in West Plains is utilized by several graduate level education programs.
In 2014, Southern Missouri Technical Institute was awarded initial accreditation by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education. That accreditation was reaffirmed in 2020. Additionally, the school is accredited by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and several program-specific accrediting agencies.
From 1970 through 2000, the school was operated as South Central Area Vocational Technical School. From 2000-2023, the school was operated as South Central Career Center. Effective July 1, 2023, the name of the school became Southern Missouri Technical Institute (SoMoTech).