The reasons they left traditional high school and moved into the Adult Education Program at Trinidad State College are wide and varied, but in their own way inspiring. Whether traditional high school age or older, all have been challenged, overcome obstacles and in the end succeeded. They are ready for the next chapter of their lives.
“We graduated eight last year and this year we graduated 22,” said Adult Education Director Tammie Mack. The test had become more difficult and the number of graduates shrank. The test had also changed from paper to computer. “We had just started implementing the new test in January, 2014 and had to change the curriculum and become more familiar with the College and Career Readiness Standards. A year later and after lots of professional development for our staff we had become more proficient in our prep,” said Mack. Then a few months ago the passing score was lowered from 150 to 145 and those five points made a big difference. “The national percent pass rate was really low and so with evaluation and much data collection they realized that the cut score needed to be lowered, not to say the test was ‘dummied down’ at all.” That plus increasingly active partnerships with Workforce, Department of Human Services, Trinidad State, local school districts, the probation/court system, and the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation made the Adult Education Center at Latuda Hall on the Trinidad State campus a busy place.
The program runs year round. Summer courses begin the week of July 11, and run until August 18. Adult Basic education, High School Equivalency prep, English as a Second Language, and Family Literacy courses and programs are all free. Hours of operation are Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. to noon and 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons free childcare is offered in the same facility.