Last year, Grand Rapids Community College served 200 adult learners at its Learning Corners. Of those students, 190 made some sort of gain by the end of their program.
“We do well,” says Director of Adult Education Dave Selmon of the learners' progress.
Selmon oversees the General Education Development (GED), English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE) and Citizenship components of the Learning Corners. ESL classes are offered year round while GED classes are taught in two 16-week semesters.
“We attract people from all over Kent County,” Selmon says of the student population.
Currently, most ESL students are Spanish speakers seeking to improve their English language skills. Many ABE and GED students are fresh out of high school and had expected to move directly into college but needed the extra academic support that the Learning Corners provide. Others have been in the workforce for years but need to improve their education in order to advance in their employment.
Selmon recalls a female learner in her early 50s who had to earn a GED to keep her job. She attended classes at a GRCC Learning Corner and did well in all of the subjects except for math. She continued to retake the class until finally, on her last chance to pass the test, she did—with flying colors. She was thrilled. When the learner returned to work, her boss told her that he wouldn't have fired her, but had wanted to motivate her to receive her GED and help her see how important education is.
Sometimes it takes an unexpected push to improve literacy skills; it always takes a community. Grand Rapids Community College partners with the Dominican Sisters WORD Project, the Literacy Center of West Michigan, Grand Rapids Public Schools, Lake Michigan Credit Union and Huntington Bank.
Selmon is also a member of the Advisory Council for the Community Literacy Initiative, a coalition that seeks to improve literacy for all ages in West Michigan. For him, this role has a direct connection to his daily work.
“We have a common goal. We reach out to people at the lowest level and help make them employable by their education. We’re offering access to people who wouldn’t normally have it.”
Selmon stresses the importance of making people comfortable in a learning setting, and helping them see how important education truly is.
“People get complacent,” he says. “We need to allow education to interrupt our lives.”
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