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St. Cloud schools spotlight adult education growth, community classes and student success
Summary
District staff and student speakers told the school board on May 7 that adult education, community enrichment classes and youth programming served thousands last year, supported by contact-hour funding and fees; administrators described funding sources and urged continued community support and enrollment.
St. Cloud Area School District staff presented an update on community education and adult basic education to the school board on May 7, describing program growth, participation totals and how the programs are funded.
The district’s adult enrichment and adult basic education programs provide fee-supported classes, English-language instruction and GED/adult-diploma courses for residents age 17 and older, said Jennifer Noble, Supervisor for Community Education, and Caroline Durnhouse, Supervisor of Adult Basic Education, during the presentation led by Adam Holm, Executive Director of Community Education.
The update highlighted participation and service levels: the district reported about 90,000 contact hours for adult basic education this year; 1,162 unique adult enrichment participants signed up for classes; 6,801 open-gym attendees were recorded at elementary and middle school sites; Project Challenge served 211 participants with 2,631 enrollments; and youth enrichment served about 3,301 participants. The district also reported 1,079 active volunteers.
“Adult education is a service that we provide to adults who are 17 years of age and older who are not enrolled in the K–12 system,” Caroline Durnhouse said. “They'd like to learn English as a second language or they are coming to study to get their GED or adult diploma.”
Two adult learners described how the programs affected their lives. Sharon Bridal, a student speaker, told the board about returning to education after struggles with substance use and abuse and said the program helped her earn high marks and prepare for graduation. Sharon Bridal said, “I was consistent. I took my life back. I was very determination to come back to school… I will be 61 years old, and you know what? You're never too old to learn.”
Maria del Rosario Camacho Castellan, another student speaker, described progressing through six ESL levels to diploma classes, finding employment in district schools and planning for college: “I keep preparing myself to go to college because even if I am away from my family, I want to make them proud.”
Holm explained funding sources and program economics to the board. For adult basic education (ABE), the district’s main revenue driver is contact-hour funding from the state and the Central Minnesota Consortium; Holm said the consortium includes 30 districts, 14 active sites and about 1,900 students, with 880 students in the immediate St. Cloud area. He told the board that contact hours allow the ABE program to grow and stressed that attendance is closely monitored because contact hours drive state reimbursement.
“For ABE, there's four funding streams… but our main source of funding is contact hours,” Holm said. “When you see we're over 90,000 hours, that allows us to grow.”
For community education, Noble said programs are largely fee-supported and intended to break even; the district also uses targeted state and federal grants and will waive or reduce fees in some cases to keep programs accessible. Noble listed offerings ranging from fitness and aquatics to driver-discount courses for adults 55 and older run with St. Cloud State University and the Precision Driving Center.
District staff highlighted career-pathway work and partnerships that link graduates to postsecondary training and employment, including partnerships with Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization, Career Solutions (the local workforce center), ARC Minnesota and technical colleges.
The board heard that adult high-school diplomas and GEDs lead to further training: Durnhouse said students who finish a GED or diploma may be eligible for free technical college training through partner programs. The Adult Basic Education graduation ceremony was scheduled for 6 p.m. May 28 at Tech High School.
Board members asked about funding mechanics; Holm reiterated that contact hours and a mix of grants and fees are the primary revenue sources, and Noble said community ed intentionally prices many classes to break even while subsidizing high-need offerings such as aquatics to keep them affordable.
The presentation closed with an invitation to the public to register for classes and a reminder that summer registration is open and the district is hiring instructors.
