Education is at the forefront of many residents’ priorities in the City of Farmington. Offering top-rate educational opportunities to students of Farmington is a leading component of life in the city. Creating lifelong learners and successful professionals has always been a priority for local educators. The Farmington R-7 School District serves the public school needs of residents through three elementary schools, Lincoln Intermediate School, one middle school and one high school. Additional campuses include the Truman Kindergarten Center, W.L. Johns Early Childhood Center, the Midwest Learning Center (alternative schooling) and the Juvenile Detention Center. The district boasts a graduation rate of 89.2 percent, soaring over the statewide rate of 84 percent.

Alternatives to public schooling can be accessed within Farmington, with such parochial institutions as St. Joseph Catholic School (Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade) and St. Paul Lutheran School (Preschool through 8th grade).

For those seeking post-secondary education, the main campus of Mineral Area College is a short 8.5-mile drive to Park Hills, along with an outreach center in Farmington. MAC is a two-year community college currently enrolling around 3,000 credit students and 1,500 non-credit students each semester. The institution allows students to receive both two-year and four-year degrees — along with vocational degrees and certificates — with bachelor’s degrees received through a partnership with Central Methodist University and both bachelor’s and master’s degrees through Southeast Missouri State University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis and the University of Missouri-Rolla.

In addition, MAC works closely with the area’s businesses by providing such services as customized training, community and workforce development and career services and placement, as well as continuing education. The college offers a variety of training programs to local employers in both hard and soft skills development and can customize training to the customer’s needs. What’s more, the college facilitates and provides training for the Mineral Area Training Consortium, (an industrial training consortium for local manufacturers) and administers the Missouri Customized Training Program for the region.

Mineral Area College has developed long-term relationships with some of the major employers in the region by offering flexible programs for general employee development and for those students wishing to pursue an A.S. or A.A.S. degree. Programs can be offered either at the college or at the employer’s site, and can be tailored to meet almost any need the employer or employees may have.

Further options within 60 miles of Farmington include Jefferson College (Hillsboro), St. Louis Community College-Meramec (Kirkwood), St. Louis Community College-Forest Park (St. Louis), Webster University (St. Louis), St. Louis University-Main Campus (St. Louis), Maryville University of St. Louis (St. Louis) and Washington University (St. Louis).

Additionally, the Farmington Public Library offers a great source for learning, with more than 38,000 volumes lining its walls. Books, magazines, videos, cassettes, computers with Internet access, a low-vision resource center, a genealogy room, a number of programs and activities and more can all be found here throughout the year.