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Franklin County Adult Basic and Community Education
Adult Basic Education Services
The Adult Education Learning Center wears so many different hats that it is impossible to list them all. Director Ray Therrien has brought together a staff that is dedicated to improving the education and technical ability of everyone in Franklin County. His philosophy, which is reflected in the work of the center, is a refreshingly optimistic look at what is possible in Franklin County given opportunity, training and funding.
Franklin County is populated by 29,700 people spread out over 1697 square miles and includes four school districts. It has suffered through the loss of manufacturing jobs, high unemployment rates, and poverty. Most jobs that are in Franklin County now require a higher skill level than the average worker has needed in the past to earn a livable wage.
By partnering with our Adult Education neighbors and working closely with many area agencies like the Wilton Career Center and Literacy Volunteers, we have been reinventing ourselves to meet the economic, business and educational demands of the twenty-first century. The regionalization of Adult Education is fast becoming a reality in Franklin County.
We have programs that target at-risk populations by offering an MSAD#9 Adult Education High School Diploma. We provide individualized learning programs for our districts’ students aligned to the Learning Results so students can graduate on time while our program generates additional revenues for MSAD#9. We have programs targeted at the Franklin County Detention Center population understanding that education is the key to recidivism thus saving money for taxpayers and the County. Two national, research-based foundations have recently completed studies that after becoming involved in meaningful education programs, the number of jail returnees decreased by over 20 percent.
We offer English as a Second Language classes to anyone in Franklin County. These folks have come from all parts of the world to live in the area. We have worked with Chinese and Thai restaurant owners and operators, Italian ski coaches working on the mountain slopes of the area, and many more living here for diverse reasons.
We continue to offer everything from basic literacy in reading, writing and math to GED preparation classes and GED testing throughout Franklin County. We, in partnership with MSAD#58 and the Town of Phillips, offer classes on site at the Phillips library. Presently we are beginning to extend our reach to points north with the services of an additional staff member shared between MSAD#9 and 58 who will be recruiting and establishing new sites to bring services closer to folks who need them.
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running.
21st Century Literacy
We are fortunate to be participating in a transformational event: The re-defining of Language, Literacy and Culture.
The traditional Literacy model that has served language and the culture it has supported for over a thousand years is being challenged from every angle as we speak. How we create, access and share ideas and information is undergoing a dramatic shift. Those of us who have grown up in bilingual homes may have a bit more understanding of the power that our children posess as native-speakers of Technology. As adults in our program redefine their educational and vocational goals, it is essential that they have the support, access and tools to build the fluency necessary to succeed in a world that only visionaries could have predicted.
Here at FCABE we are acutely aware of the challenge this presents. We are deeply committed to providing meaningful real-time content to learners. Our goal is to seamlessly integrate technology into our educational philosophy, professional development, curriculum and facility. Here are some examples of how we are putting our practice to work:
Franklin County Community College Network
We have been involved in developing a Community College presence in Franklin County as part of the Franklin County Community College Network. We continue to provide direct services to adults wanting to enter college. The services include a six week College Readiness course which will jump- start the college process for first time enrollees and others who want to explore career options, develop effective study skills, navigate college admissions and financial aid forms, assess their academic skills and build the confidence needed to begin. We offer brush up and pre-requisite courses in writing, geometry, algebra, physics, and chemistry, to those getting ready to begin their higher learning sojourn. We provide tutoring and support and encouragement to those who are struggling in their college course work.
People who once needed to travel out of the county for Community College course work can now access their education here at our Adult Learning Center in Farmington, the Ken Foster Tech Center, and Mt. Abram High School. This is possible because of the collaborative efforts of the Franklin County Community College Network.
The icing on this particular educational cake is the fact that we now have scholarship funding to support students in Franklin County who are going on to higher learning. No one in Franklin County has been denied the opportunity to go on to college because of funding issues this semester. Everyone who applied for scholarship support received an award based on need. We thank the many people who have helped make this exciting and important educational opportunity possible .We urge our county residents to take full advantage of this opportunity. Please review graphs indicating FCCCN enrollments and scholarships.
Community Education Community Education offered through Adult Education is probably what comes to mind when people hear the term Adult Education. In fact, it is another component to the total AE program all together. Community Education offers Certificate Courses like CNA and Medical Terminology as well as others. It offers SAT preparation and Substitute trainings for substitute teachers. Community Ed. provides academic classes for students going into post secondary education or for specific skill trainings. Community Education offers numerous enrichment classes at various sites in MSAD9. Art and Calligraphy, parenting and care-giving classes, and chainsaw and woodworking classes are available to name just a few. It is a pay-for-itself program with the exception of a small amount of federal funds to run academic classes. Classes are prorated to cover the cost of the instructor and the over head to run the program. We do not run programs to generate revenues but rather to provide enjoyable, interesting learning experiences for the community throughout the year. This year alone, Community Education has offered over 149 classes to 1,249 people so far, and we are still counting. Sixty-four classes have been held in MSAD9 schools, fifty-two classes have been held in the community and thirty-three classes are being held here at the Adult Learning Center. Additionally, we are a satellite site of UMA’s ITV program delivering 43 courses out of the Foster Tech Center. Three of the courses are web-based distance learning programs that are delivered directly to our learners via the internet. Community Education brokers with a California-based company, ED 2 GO, to provide over 300 web-based certificate programs for a small fee to Franklin County Learners. It has proven very successful and has continued to be part of our offerings for several years now.
Franklin County Adult Education’s newest initiatives are our inter-agency collaborations with businesses in the area. We will be offering a work ready, “soft” skills, portable training credential to potential workers not only get a good paying job but actually keep the job once they are hired. It also helps businesses leverage their training needs and acquire candidates that are ready for work. Another new project will help current employees upgrade their job skills in order to be considered for pay increases and promotions. This will benefit both employees and employers in the area.
Our Adult Education Program provides a “seamless” transition for all Franklin County residents. Our efforts provide access to educational opportunities that will afford the quality of life we all are striving for. We encourage you to take advantage of the many offerings we provide and support our efforts during the budget process.
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