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MANY MODELS, MANY PARTNERS Most of the partnerships have solid relationships with their local community colleges, sometimes, as in Holyoke and Coeur d'Alene, at the direction of their states. In El Dorado, Coeur d'Alene, and Houston County, for example, the community colleges form a kind of anchor for the partnerships, providing office and classroom space, equipment, salaries, and other funds and in-kind donations. SHARING AND COLLABORATING
In Portland, the Londer Center shares responsibility for adult education services for ex-inmates with Portland Community College (PCC). Londer serves those with low-level literacy skills, and PCC those with higher skills. PCC also funds some of Londer's instructional support technician positions and pays for one semester of college for any ex-inmate who graduates from Londer. The two organizations recently collaborated on a grant proposal aimed at reducing recidivism among young serious offenders.
In general, the partnership between community colleges and adult education in these communities seems to be a natural fit. In Houston County and El Dorado, the colleges have an explicit workforce development mission, and they see adult education as one of the ways they fulfill that mission. Several partners also emphasized that an additional benefit of such relationships is that learners become familiar with the college setting and begin to see higher education as worthwhile—and attainable. |
