Warrensburg and Johnson County take their education very seriously. The biggest example is Central Missouri State University. CMSU is home for 11,500 students attending one of four separate colleges. The students and 500-member staff, athletic and arts programs have dramatic, community-wide impact.

Central Missouri State University has grown far beyond its 1871 role as a regional school for teacher preparation. Today, this comprehensive university offers more than 150 areas of study at the undergraduate and graduate levels in arts and sciences, business administration, and education and human services. Central is Missouri's lead institution in professional applied sciences and technology, even operating its own airport for students in aviation.

At the elementary and secondary levels, the Warrensburg School District is the largest in Johnson County, with more than 3,200 students. In two of the last three years, the Missouri State Board of Edu-cation awarded the district its Distinction in Performance accreditation. In 2002, Dr. Michael Jinks, superintendent, was named Missouri Superintendent of the Year.

The district is a leader in the utilization of technology and has invested more than a million dollars in equipment and software. Twelve hundred computers are in operation. All but one building has a computer lab and is Internet accessible.

Students at Warrensburg High School have access to a wide range of quality pro- grams, including college credit of-fered through both Central Missouri State Univ. and the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

The district also operates the Warrensburg Area Vocational Technical School. This institution provides training in computer programming, technology information management, agriculture, nursing, automobile mechanics, building trades, office technology and cosmetology.

Six other public school districts serve Johnson County's other communities, with the 1,900-student Knob Noster district the largest. Private schools and academies provide further options, especially in Warrensburg.

Since 1991, Webster University has offered graduate classes at the education center on Whiteman Air Force Base. The programs are offered to both military and government employees as well as contractors and civilian staff from surrounding communities. Programs include master's degrees in management, human resources development, and a master's of business administration (MBA).

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graphic content without permission is prohibited. | DestinationWarrensburg is a supplement to Ingram's Magazine