Missouri Mall Becomes High School Career Training Center

The old VF Mall in Lebanon, Missouri sat empty for years, a familiar symbol of retail's decline. Now it's buzzing with possibility as the Robert W. Plaster Center for Student Success, opening August 25 for students ready to explore their futures.

The Lebanon School District transformed the massive space into something remarkable. High schoolers will study biomedical science, run simulations in a medical lab, take business courses, and work directly with healthcare professionals and industry leaders through specialized programs.

Superintendent David Schmitz explains the urgency. "We are seeking to create an environment where students are not just learning reading, writing, and math, but they are having the opportunity to rub elbows with healthcare professionals, industry leaders," he said. Waiting until graduation is often too late.

The transformation happened through an impressive partnership. The school district, City of Lebanon, area medical providers, Ozarks Tech, the Plaster Family, and multiple grants all collaborated to make it possible.

Here's the brilliant part: only half the 102,000-square-foot building is finished. The district intentionally left the other half open for future programs based on what students actually need and want.

Principal Kati O'Quinn loves this flexibility. "We're really going to look at what are the programs that are needing the most attention for space or for flexibility, what do we see out in our community," she said. The space will evolve with student needs instead of forcing students into predetermined paths.

The programs themselves teach more than just career skills. Students create their own weekly schedules, building real-world time management skills that most don't develop until college or their first job.

The Ripple Effect

Students who tried the Schools of Discovery program during its first year had the same feedback: it's challenging, but the payoff is huge. The time management skills they developed prepared them for life beyond high school in ways traditional classroom structures never could.

Lebanon isn't just saving a building. They're giving teenagers the chance to test-drive careers before committing to expensive college programs or entering the workforce unprepared. When students can shadow healthcare workers in a real simulation lab or collaborate with business professionals on actual projects, they make better decisions about their futures.

Other communities struggling with empty retail spaces now have a blueprint for transformation.

The center proves that dead malls don't have to stay dead, and that high school can be so much more than textbooks and tests.