Alexandria ABE and community education presenters highlight year of expanding services

Julie Fitec, the Alexandria-area adult basic education coordinator, and Pam Hendrickson, the district’s adult enrichment coordinator, told the Alexandria Public School District board that their programs continued to expand and to draw regional partners.

Fitec said the Alexandria Area Adult Basic Education consortium serves 11 school districts across roughly 2,800 square miles and that ABE provides GED and adult-diploma programs, basic skills, English language classes and citizenship instruction. “Our services are all free, all confidential,” she said, adding the program is funded by state and federal grants and that Minnesota Adult ABE is the statewide system.

Nut graf: The presentations detailed both career- and life-skills instruction for adult learners (ABE) and a broad schedule of community education classes for residents. Board members heard enrollment and service metrics and were told federal funding changes could affect a regional online career collaborative that helps deliver career-focused courses.

By the numbers, Fitec told the board the consortium served 308 learners last year and recorded 8,320 learner contact hours. She said learners come from more than 25 countries and speak more than 14 languages; the largest foreign-born student groups cited were from Mexico, Haiti, Nicaragua and Ukraine. Fitec described employer partnerships and a Regional Online Career Collaborative (ROC) that allows learners across consortia to take synchronized online career courses; she said ROC is federally funded and that its future depends on federal grant continuation.

Two ABE learners, Madeline Estetavaria and Maria Forsberg, spoke to the board about how ABE helped them. Estetavaria, who said she came from Cuba two years ago and now works as a paraeducator at Woodland Elementary, read a short poem about perseverance and said ABE “has not only been a school for me, it is also being my second home.” Forsberg said she used the ABE program to obtain a high-school diploma and then completed a Child Development Associate credential; she said she now works as a preschool teacher and credited the program with increasing her confidence.

Hendrickson summarized community education, saying the department offers more than 100 seasonal courses, three catalogs a year distributed to roughly 17,000 residents, and about 2,500 adult registrations annually. Course topics range from arts and wellness to technology and aging-related classes; Hendrickson cited partnerships with local museums, the county extension office, Alexandria Technical & Community College and local businesses.

Board members asked about funding and parent outreach. Fitec said ABE enrollment increased (she cited a 16% increase in contact hours) and that the district’s ABE budget increased accordingly. Board members and staff discussed outreach and possible parent education to increase adoption of family-facing digital tools offered by the district.

Ending: The board took no formal action on the presentations. Staff said more program detail, and the ABE five-year narrative, are available on the district website and by request.