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Merrill’s new Community Education program reports 165 participants and plans 50–70 fall classes
Summary
District staff presented the first‑season results for Merrill’s newly launched community education program: 34 spring classes, about 300 registrants in the system and 165 people who attended; administrators aim for 50–70 classes in the fall and are pursuing targeted advertising and partnership offerings.
Angie Drew, the district staff member leading Merrill’s new Community Education program, updated the board on July 16 about the program’s spring launch, participation and plans for the fall catalog. Drew told the board the program went live after a January 15 launch timeline and offered 34 classes in the spring catalog. About 300 community members registered through the program’s new online platform and 165 people attended classes, she said. Popular offerings included cookie‑decorating (multiple sold‑out sessions), watercolor and glass mosaic; several instructors expanded class size to accommodate wait‑listed participants. Drew said the program built registration and payment processes from scratch and centralized payments for other district activities (for example, aquatics), reducing paper registrations and daily cash handling. For fall, she said she expects at least 50 classes and possibly up to 70, pending final instructor paperwork. Planned fall actions include paid social‑media advertising, targeted print placement (for example, City Pages), increased signage at the high school to help attendees find classrooms, more weekend offerings, expanded family classes and options to let youth under 16 attend with a paying parent. Drew said community partners such as the Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) have offered free classes to the catalog. Board members praised the start‑up. A board member said, “I just wanna applaud Angie” for building the registration platform and reaching far beyond the initial 10‑class goal. Superintendent Shannon Murray and board members noted the program furthers the strategic plan’s community engagement pillar and creates additional district contact with adults in the community. There was no vote on program funding during the meeting; Drew asked the board to support outreach and sign‑posting plans as the district ramps up fall offerings.
