Adult Learning Center

Overview

www.lehman.edu/deanedu/alc/

Overview

History

The Lehman College Adult Learning Center (ALC) has been offering free classes for adults since 1985. Originally a program of Lehman's Division of Adult and Continuing Education, the Adult Learning Center became a part of the Institute for Literacy Studies in 1986. The Lehman Adult Learning Center is part of a citywide network of adult education programs at campuses of the City University of New York (CUNY) coordinated by CUNY's Office of Academic Affairs.

In its early years, the program offered classes in Basic Education (BE) and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). In 1991, the CUNY Office of Academic Affairs reconfigured the way GED classes at CUNY were organized citywide. As a part of this change, the GED classes at Lehman became a part of the Adult Learning Center. For a few years, the GED program still operated separately from the ALC, but the two components fully merged in 1996. In its early years, the ALC was mainly a daytime program with only a small number of evening classes. But in the late 1990s, the program expanded to offer a full range of BE, ESOL, and GED classes in both the morning and the evening.

Students at the Adult Learning Center come from communities throughout the Bronx and northern Manhattan, with a larger concentration of students from the neighborhoods surrounding Lehman College. Many of our students are immigrants seeking to improve their English fluency or to gain the knowledge and credentials that will allow them to participate more fully in the life of their new country and to build better futures for their families. Others are native New Yorkers who for a variety of reasons never finished high school and are returning to school to build their literacy skills or obtain a high school equivalency diploma.

The mix of students has changed over time, shaped by the shifting demographics of the Bronx and by changes in social and educational policies. While over 60% of our students are Latino(a), in recent years larger numbers of students are from Mexico and Central and South America, though most Latino(a) students are still of Dominican or Puerto Rican heritage. About one third of our students are of African descent, including African-Americans, African-Caribbeans, and, increasingly, recent immigrants from Africa. Other groups whose number have been growing in recent years are Asians (including Bangladeshis, Indians, Southeast Asians, and students from various Arab countries) and Eastern Europeans, including people from Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and the former Soviet Union. About 10% of our students have European ancestry, including people born in Italy, Ireland, and Eastern Europe, as well as the United States.

Until the mid-1990's, about 40% of the students at the Adult Learning Center were single mothers receiving public assistance. But as a result of changes in welfare policies at the federal, state, and local level, most people on public assistance were forced out of education programs. Currently, very few ALC students are on public assistance and a large percentage of our students are working. Due to the tightening of high school graduation requirements, there has been an influx of younger students who have recently left school.

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Goals & Strategies

The ALC is a community of teachers and students working together to explore ideas, build skills, and prepare students for the challenges of life in NYC. The ALC's adult learners often work with us through multiple stages of their literacy development over a period of years. Others are with us for a shorter period, until they reach their goal, which is, often, obtaining a GED diploma. Many GED graduates then start college at Lehman or other CUNY campuses. Others move on to work-related training programs or to more satisfactory performance on their jobs, which sometimes translates into new positions or new job opportunities. Enhanced literacy and English skills also help many students meet personal goals like helping their children with homework, reading newspapers, or writing letters.

While helping students develop or enhance basic literacy and math skills, and English language fluency, instruction at the ALC also seeks to immerse students in a rich educational experience that will inspire them to develop an excitement and enthusiasm for learning. We want students to become avid readers, articulate writers, and active participants in the discourse of their communities and the larger society.

Teachers at the Adult Learning Center use eclectic strategies for classroom instruction, but share common approaches and concerns. All of our work is student centered. Classes are built around active student participation and deal with issues of concern to students. Students frequently work in small groups, engage in lively classroom discussions, do role playing and produce creative products such as class publications. We encourage students to become active learners, and critical thinkers with an ability to reflect on their own learning processes.

Many teachers organize instruction around themes in which adult learners have expressed a concrete interest. These have included topics such as health and nutrition, immigration, and education, as well as explorations of historical patterns and studies of various regions of the world. Focused classes and workshops on citizenship, office skills, and life issues such as parenting and family health provide students further opportunities for instruction.

We view becoming comfortable users of technology as another type of literacy, and as much as possible try to include technology learning as part of our instruction. Students use e-mail and explore the web as part of their learning, and become familiar with the ways that technology allows for interaction both inside and outside the classroom. Many students in the program participate in technology learning at the Lehman College Instructional Technology Center as part of their "core" classes. In addition, we offer two technology elective classes, an Office Skills class and an Internet class. We are also learning about some of the newer technologies such as blogs and WIKIs which we have been introduced to through the NYC Writing Project's Technology Initiative. We plan to learn more about them ourselves in the coming year and begin to experiment with ways of using them in the classroom.

Core Beliefs

Our core beliefs as a program grow out of our own personal values, our shared experiences as educators, and our connection and collaboration with the Institute for Literacy Studies. They include:

Adults should have access to education to achieve personal goals, participate more broadly in their communities, play a more active role in their children's education, and have the opportunity to position themselves for higher-paying jobs and additional education.

Adults can be supported in language and literacy learning through extended opportunities to read, write, speak, and listen.

Adult students bring with them a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and experience that should be honored and valued in their classes.

Teachers should provide high quality, rigorous, and thoughtful instruction to students. In turn, teachers should be supported and nurtured and offered opportunities to grow and develop as creative practitioners.

A collaborative working environment for staff fosters a spirit of community and enhances professional growth and creative fulfillment.

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Funding

The Lehman College Adult Learning Center receives funding from New York State and New York City, which have collaborated for many years in supporting adult literacy education in New York City. This collaboration funds programs based in the City University, community-based organizations, the three public library systems, and the NYC Department of Education. City funds are currently provided through the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development. New York State funds are provided through the New York State Department of Education. This includes federal Workforce Investment Act funds and, at times, other funds directly from the state. We also receive EDGE funding from the New York State Department of Labor. The Adult Learning Center periodically receives additional funding from other sources, often for special projects.

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Contact

Paul Wasserman, Director
Adult Learning Center
Lehman College, CUNY
Old Gym Building Room 019
Bronx, NY 10468
718-960-8807

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