Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Administrator’s Corner by Penny Jahnke

When people ask me where I work, I say the Adult Education Center. The next questions are usually, “Where are you located and what do you do?” The staff and I joke that no matter how hard we try to share information about our program, we still are one of the best-kept secrets in Albert Lea. So here are the answers to where are we located, who are we and what do we do?

The Adult Education Center is located at Brookside Education Center, Room 218.  We are open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. There are 10 part-time staff in our program, and we offer a variety of classes and navigation services at no cost. Classes are available in-person, online or through distant learning sites. Our current class offerings include:

• ESL (English as a Second Language): Instruction for learners whose native (primary) language is not English

• GED (General Educational Development Diploma): National high school equivalency test

• GED testing center

• Digital literacy: Building computer and technology skills

• Adult Career Pathways: Office specialist, CNA prep, paraprofessional, driver’s permit prep, community interpreter, TEAS prep, and Microsoft Office specialist. College credits are available in many of these classes.

• Life skills — such as sewing

• Community resources

We currently have 153 students registered from 12 countries. To be eligible for our services a student must be 17 and over, not enrolled in a K-12 school and either seeking a high school credential or lacking skills in any of the basic academic areas including reading, math, writing and/or speaking English. We also provide transportation and child care for our students.

I hope this article provides a better understanding of the Adult Education Center and all it does for our community. Please call me at 507-379-4867 to learn more, or better yet, come visit us at Brookside. We are here to help!

Penny Jahnke is the coordinator of the Adult Education Center.