The 61 cooperative vocational centers in Minnesota are joint efforts of 2 or more neighboring school districts to provide secondary vocational education and to strengthen, extend and expand existing vocational programs. Begun as pilot projects in 1968, the centers focus on introducing students to a variety of occupations, providing career exploration, and providing basic skills for employment, as well as some preparation for post-secondary college or technical programs. Cooperative centers, called "area schools" in some parts of the country, are usually centralized for cost effectiveness. The centers are usually established by local advisory committees working with district administrators to formalize the center's establishment and to select, place, and publicize the center. Administrators select a vocational administrator, who in most states is required to have a vocational education background. The centers generally use the simulated method of job training and operate two or three hours per day. Students enroll in their home districts and take courses in both the home school and the center. Pine to Prairie Cooperative Center, one of the two original Minnesota projects, now serves 13 school districts. The center's staff of 75 provides vocational courses to over 1500 students, including some disadvantaged and handicapped students. (SB)