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Administrator’s Corner by John Double

Our Albert Lea Community Education looks to provide opportunities for all community members to Gather, discover and grow. This includes opportunities for learners from expectant mothers and newborns to our adult learners and senior community.

Our Early Childhood Family Education learning opportunities include classes for learners and their families, from birth to age 5. These classes include opportunities for the whole family including a Big Siblings Class, parenting classes and a Grandparents are Grand class, along with our Family Fun Night (September) and ECFE Fall Festival (October).

Our Early Learning programming includes Early Childhood screening for our pre-kindergarten learners (ages 3-5). The screening includes five different areas related to your child’s learning and growing. Families can sign up for this free screening by contacting our Early Learning Office to schedule a time for their student(s). This year the screening locations will include visits to a couple of the child care centers in our community, increasing access for families.

Our enrichment classes for youth and adults cover a wide variety of interest areas. We offer classes in the interest areas of daytime adventure trips, professional development, driver education, business and finance, fitness, health and wellness, cooking and general enrichment classes.

We also have our boathouse (reopening this spring) and rock gym (new holds and routes this past summer — new routes added regularly).

Our Adult Education Center offers many classes for our community. We offer GED preparation and testing, English courses in the daytime and evening, and a host of career classes for our adult students. The career classes include paraprofessional training, health care core, and commercial driver’s license (CDL) permit preparation. If transportation to and/or from class or child care during class are barriers to learning, we encourage students to contact our Adult Education Center to discuss their learning options.

John Double is the executive director of Albert Lea Community Education.