A wide range of state-approved specialized educational programs are available from privately-owned vocational, technical and business schools, and in corporate training program in the Spokane area. Formal apprenticeship programs are available in hundreds of occupational fields. Enough to satisfy the career development needs of the labor force and the training desires of local companies.

Spokane is the education and training center of the Inland Northwest, a region served by a variety of public and private higher educational institutions. The Spokane Area Private Industry Council (PIC), established pursuant to the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982 (JTPA), administers employment and training programs for local economically disadvantaged youths and adults through the Spokane City-County Employment and Training Consortium.

Public Schools
Spokane area elementary and secondary schools comprehensive programs in the basic areas of reading, mathematics, science, social studies, writing and fine arts. Additionally, specialized course offerings in gifted and talented education, advanced placement, business and vocational training, and remedial and special education classes are provided to the community. School districts jointly operate the Spokane Area Vocational skills Center to provide advanced vocational and technical training for high school students. School districts also cooperate to provide joint programs to serve the needs of students in both educational and support service areas.

Community support for the public education system in Spokane County is strong. Voters provide positive support for most operational tax levies and capital improvement bond issues. School districts utilize citizen involvement through the active use of advisory committees and volunteer organizations. Active participation by the business community occurs through various programs including the Partners Program and the youth Employment Training Program.

Private Schools
More than 40 private elementary and secondary schools serve students from kindergarten through grade 12. There are a number of educational organizations for special academic and therapeutic interests, including the Lilac Blind Foundation, various Montessori programs, and the Spokane Guild's School and Neuromuscular Center There are also three special instructional centers and five regional guidance centers.

The Spokane Art School is a private, not-for-profit school that gives daytime, after-school and evening classes and workshops for young people (2-16 years of age), and classes workshops and master classes to people young at heart but over 15.

Higher Education

• Applied Technology Center
  ATC, part of community colleges of Spokane, serves the business and industrial community. With community colleges as a resource base, ATC draws on a wealth of expertise in a variety of technical professions. In addition, ATC will function as an outreach training resource for the Spokane. Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute (SIRTI), ATC can help businesses cope with ever-changing technological advances. Program areas include manufacturing, engineering, computer integrated manufacturing, fluid power, quality assurance, and computer-aided design and manufacturing.
   
• City University
  City university is an accredited private university granting bachelors and masters degrees in business, education and liberal arts. Evening, weekend and independent study classes serve a student population of working adults, Headquartered in Bellevue. Washington City university has branches in 20 northwest cities and six European countries City university's MBA program is the fifth largest in the United States.
   
• Eastern Washington University
  With a main campus in Cheney, just 17 miles west of Spokane, and additional facilities located in downtown Spokane, EWU offers more than 100 academic majors and 32 master's degree programs. Eastern actively supports economic development and cultural life in Spokane, and is a major presence in the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute.
   
• Gonzaga University & Law School
  Founded by the Jesuit order in 1887, Gonzaga currently offers approximately 50 undergraduate degree programs, as well as 27 masters' degrees in various fields. Gonzaga also offers a doctoral program in educational leadership, and a degree of Juris doctor through their School of Law.
   
• Institute for Extended Learning
  The IEL is part of community colleges of Spokane. It provides day and evening credit and non-credit classes at 55 sites and 11 school districts throughout six counties in eastern Washington. IEL provides a wide variety of academic, professional/technical and special interest classes and workshops. It is one of the largest providers of adult basic education services in the state, including English as a Second Language, high school completion, and GED classes. The IEL's Training and Education Coordinating Center provides customized training to business and industry. The IEL enrolls about 8,000 students per quarter.
   
• ITT Technical Institute
  The Spokane ITT Technical institute is operated by Indianapolis based ITT Education Services, Inc. (ITT/ESI), a subsidiary of ITT Corporation, providing education to more then 20,000 students through the operation of 54 colleges in 25 states. ITT came to Spokane in 1985 and focuses on preparing graduates for careers in technology. ITT is accredited by a Department of Education approved agency and is a degree granting institution. ITT specializes in electronic engineering technology and computer-aided drafting technology.
   
• Intercollegiate Center for Nursing Education (ICNE)
  A consortium nursing school for EWU, WSU and Whitworth College, the Center offers baccalaureate and master's degree programs, as well as continuing education courses for registered nurses.
   
• Joint Center for Higher Education
  The JCHE, an independent state agency, coordinates all baccalaureate and graduate degree programs offered by public institutions in Spokane, and is responsible for development of the Spokane Higher Education Park. This park, on the south bank of the Spokane River near the city's core, will host the Spokane branch campus of Washington State University and the academic programs of Eastern Washington University's Spokane Center. The universities will share a common physical infrastructure and some services, and will establish the individual facilities necessary for specialized programs. The park's first building, the Spokane Intercollegiate Research & Technology Institute, opened in 1994. Construction of the second facility, which houses the WSU Spokane multi-disciplinary Design Institute, and upper-level programs of EWU's College of Business & Public Administration, was completed in 1996. Subsequent development phases are planned to meet growing needs for higher education. Planers anticipate more than 5,000 students will attend classes at Spokane's new urban campus by the year 2000.
   
• Spokane Community College
  SCC offers degrees and certificates in more than 90 professional/technical fields, as well as full-range of transferable liberal arts programs. Professional/technical areas of study include agriculture, horticulture, natural resources, business and office technology, health sciences, a wide variety of technical, industrial and service occupations ranging from aircraft mechanics to electrical maintenance, culinary arts, welding, and more.
   
• Spokane Falls Community College
  SFCC emphasizes liberal arts instruction and is among the top three community colleges in the state in the number of students who transfer to four-year universities. Liberal arts students choose from more then 40 pre-major programs ranging from accounting to education to veterinary medicine, SFCC also offers more then 20 professional/technical degrees. Areas of study include business and office technology, camera repair, fine and applied arts, interior design, music, orthotic-prosthetic technology, photography, saddlemaking, health/fitness technology and human services.
   
• Spokane Intercollegiate Research & Technology Institute
  SIRTI fosters cooperative efforts in applied research and technology transfer between industry and Spokane's institutions of higher education. A collaborative project of five institutions - Washington State University, Eastern Washington University Gonzaga University, Whitworth College and the community Colleges of Spokane - SIRTI's mission is to improve the economic vitality of the region by utilizing the collective resources of these centers of higher education to cultivate the development and commercialization of new technologies. Sponsoring institutions contribute instruction and research in high-technology disciplines such as international management. In addition to educational programs and applied research projects, SIRTI has initiatives in business resources and support, and information networking/telecommunications SIRTI opened in the fall of 1994.
   
• Washington State University at Spokane
  Washington State University is working to meet the advanced studies and research needs of greater Spokane's professional community. Planned for the lifestyles of working adults as well as full time students, advanced courses are offered at convenient times in central downtown locations. Graduate programs and courses are currently available in computer science, criminal justice, electrical engineering, engineering management, health policy and administration, human nutrition, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, and speech and hearing sciences (communication disorders). Course work and internships for student teachers and for experienced educators seeking the superintendent's credential through the College of Education also are offered. The Spokane campus is the site of the final stages of undergraduate professional education for all students enrolled in pharmacy, and for many students enrolled in architecture, construction management, interior design, and landscape architecture. The Doctor of Pharmacy at WSU Spokane is the only doctoral degree offered at a branch campus in the state. Course work is also available in the other disciplines.
   
• Whitworth College
  Founded in1890, Whitworth College is a private, residential liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Whitworth offers its 1,500 undergraduate students 44 degree programs in the arts and sciences, as well as evening degree programs for adult learners. Whitworth also offers master's degree programs in education, international management and nursing. In its "1997 America's Best Colleges" issue, U.S. News and World Report ranked Whitworth among the top ten regional colleges and universities in the west. Whitworth's 200-acre wooded campus is located 14 minutes north of downtown Spokane.