Fifteen years ago, “Stan” dropped out of school at the age of 16. The coming years brought Stan into a series of minimum wage jobs with little opportunity for advancement. Over the course of his young adult life, Stan became increasingly discouraged about his future. Now, Stan is a young father of two kids. Seeing their needs, Stan desires to earn the diploma he missed out on, seek a higher paying position, and better prepare himself for his future. One question remains….where do I start?
The answer to Stan’s question in Allen County is the Allen County Adult Education Center (ACAEC). The adult education component of the Allen County School District is a one-stop source to help patrons earn a GED, increase career opportunities, increase employability skills, prepare for college, and even learn how to help their kids with their homework.
“Adult education is not just about the GED,” explained David Burch, the director of the Allen County Adult Education Center. “Our primary mission is to see people get their GED; that’s what we are known for. We do have students in a program of study working toward their GED, but other services we provide include helping students with resume-writing skills, developing interview skills, or increasing their math skills.”
National studies are very clear on the benefit of obtaining a GED for students who---for whatever reason---did not graduate from high school. Adults who earn their GED earn an average of $9,400 more per year than individuals without a GED or high school graduation. Adults who earn a GED and elect to go on to college earn an average of $6,900 more per year as well.
“Getting your GED establishes the foundation for any type of vocational training or higher education,” Burch pointed out.
The Allen County Adult Education Center not only helps walk-in students obtain a GED, but ACAEC staff goes into the Allen County Detention Center to help residents improve their education level---a starting point for life-change upon release from incarceration.
“Allen County jailor Larry Piper is very supportive of the GED program,” Burch said. “Right now we do a night or two a week at the Justice Center. This helps inmates take an educational step forward.”
The Center also assists adults in earning the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC). Many industries require the certificate as a condition of employment.
“Locally, that’s primarily related to the J.M. Smucker company and the Halton Corporation,” Burch noted. “For example, in order to be considered for full time employment at Smucker, you have to pass the NCRC test. We are not just a testing center for J.M. Smucker. Here we provide a program of study for people to increase their skills and learn. They have to be registered here. They have distance learning to perform. We monitor the students and test them for their skill levels.”
Burch is leading the Center into a new marketing campaign---a campaign to reintroduce to the community the services available through the ACAEC. In the coming weeks and months, ACAEC staff will be sending out information to churches, approaching business and industry, posting information around the community, and seeking to education the community about all the services available---including one service which may seem small, but can go a long way.
“For example, in this day and time parents or grandparents have a hard time helping their kids with their homework, especially in math.” Burch said. “We are here to help adults improve their math skills if they need to do so in order to help their children with their homework.”
Burch adds that the ACAEC will welcome a phone call or a visit to learn more.
“We are here not just for the GED,” Burch stressed. “We are here to help. We encourage the public to call us. We are in the education business.”
The ACAEC is looking to improve visibility in the community as well gather funding from the community in general---funding that will be used only to help patrons with the cost of taking the GED or taking a Work Keys tests. Everything else that the ACAEC does is without charge.
“All our services are free,” Burch emphasized. “We have tremendous support from the school district. Mr. Jackson and our Board of Education are very supportive of all we do. We served about 250 people in the last year, and we would like to reach many more.”
An added service that will debut on October 10 will be a late-afternoon/evening GED class. The new class is designed to provide an evening option for individual seeking to obtain a GED. The Monday class will start at 5:30 at the ACAEC
The Allen County Adult Education Center is located at 1501 Bowling Green Road in a portion of the building which formally housed the Allen County Vocational and Technical School. For more information about any of the services offered by adult education, call 270-237-4492.