Mount Wachusett Community College Awarded Over $1.1M to Support Adult Education
The Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS) unit of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has awarded Mount Wachusett Community College grant monies totaling $1,108,106 to support basic skills education, occupational training, and post-secondary enrollment for adult learners in our region.
The Adult Education Services Continuation grant of $958,106 funds free access for eligible undereducated and limited English proficient adults, age sixteen and older, to highly effective adult basic education services in sixteen Workforce Investment Areas. The grant also includes $42,335 directed toward the Integrated Education and Training program HiSET/GED preparation with Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Training and an additional $37,665 is directed to the Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education program which combines ESOL instruction and CNA training. Each program is funded to support twenty students.
An additional grant of $150,000 was awarded in June for the Transition to Community College program that supports students transitioning from adult education programs to post-secondary enrollment.
The purpose of these services are to assist adult students to achieve their educational and career goal as family members, workers, and community members, and prepare them to successfully take their next steps toward those goals, in college and further training, at work, and in the community.
“The continuation of this grant funding is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our Adult Education team of advisors, and educators,” stated MWCC President James Vander Hooven. “Their work truly reflects the MWCC mission to be a lifelong learning community dedicated to excellence in education and responsive to the changing needs of the communities we serve.”
“Through this funding and your continued support, we hope to provide high quality adult education services across 16 local workforce development areas and statewide for Adult Education and Correctional Institutions,” stated the grant award letter signed by Governor Charles Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito.
The grant will allow MWCC Adult Education and Training division to provide Adult Basic Education to 115 students and English as a Second Language to 154 students.
“Our adult education programs are vital to the success of our community,” notes Adam Duggan, Dean of Adult Education and Training Services. “These programs allow us to help students build the personal, social and academic skills needed to successfully complete a college program and go on to employment.”
The Adult Education and Training (AET) Center offers classes in Adult Basic Education, high school equivalency preparation, English for Speakers of Other Languages, and a variety of other programs. The AET Center is headquartered at the Leominster campus, alongside the MassHire North Central Career Center.
