[DALE]

I agree totally with Matman on this one. As a graduate of Paintsville High School there has always been a reputation that Paintsville is one of the better schools to prepare a child for college but honestly I don't feel that way. In high school I made great grades, scored a 28 on the ACT and moved on to college thinking I was at an advantage compared to some of my other classmates. I found out quick that was not the case. Never once did I have an AutoCAD class, a Physics course or even a Calculus class until I started my major. Depending on a child's aspirations going into college when graduating from Paintsville really determines whether or not they are ready for college. JC on the other hand has a really solid program that allows a child to choose what type of career path they are interested in and a curriculum to meet that student's needs. If a student wants to go into the medical field, become an engineer or a teacher they have a program that is valuable in enabling the student to get a some sort of concept of what they will see when they start college. That is one benefit that a large school like JC has over a small school similar to Paintsville. As a future parent when choosing a school for my children I will look for those things first instead of how good their athletic teams are. No matter how successful they may possibly be playing sports, if they don't have any knowledge about what they want to become after high school and are not prepared to take that next step in their life, I will feel that I have failed as a parent.