Adult Education will start up again at Trinidad State’s Valley Campus in Alamosa on August 14 with a free three-week long mini-session. The fall session will start on September 18 and continue until December 14. This fulfills a promise made by College President Dr. Carmen Simone to keep the program alive, even though grant funding from the Colorado Department of Education ran out at the end of June. At that time, Simone pledged college resources to fill the need for high school equivalency training for those who have dropped out of high school. “Education at this level is an important connection between the college and the community,” said Trinidad State President Dr. Carmen Simone. “We know many in the Valley need these educational services at some point in their lives and we are committed to help.”
The week of August 14 will be enrollment week according to Director of Adult Education
Tammie Mack. “So anyone who needs our services can show up, we’ll do a Power Point
presentation that shows the ins and outs of the program and then we’ll do some intake
testing that will show what the students know and what they don’t know; where those
education gaps are and what we need to do to fill those in and get them started working
toward their High School Equivalency degree.”
The initial orientation and screening will happen at any time as students show up
the first week. They will then be allowed to start working toward their educational
goals. “It’s really a three-week pilot program to work out some kinks, to get us going
again, to see what works and what doesn’t,” said Mack. “Then we’ll start our regular
fall session on September 18.”
About two dozen students who were in the program in the spring and expressed an interest
in returning will be contacted over the coming weeks so they know they will have the
information they need to return in the fall.
Mary Richards, who was with the program previously, will teach language arts and social
studies. Another instructor will be hired soon to teach science and math.