Community type
Large rural region encompassing five counties; combined population of 178,000

Location
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Geographic region
West

Partners
North Idaho College (NIC); state departments of labor, vocational rehabilitation, and health and welfare; Idaho Industrial Commission; Workforce Development Board; school districts; correctional facilities, and community organizations, among others.

Population served
Adults needing adult basic education, GED preparation, English literacy, family literacy, and workplace readiness services.

Lessons learned

• Geography compels partnerships. Without partners, it would be impossible for the Adult Education Center to serve adults in a region encompassing 7,662 square miles.
  
  
• Cross-training staff of partner organizations aids efficient delivery of services. Staff learn each other’s services, procedures, and expectations.
  
  
• NIC, the local community college, serves as anchor and provides various forms of steady support to many of the partners.
  
  
• What makes the partnerships work: committed, shared leadership; a regional tradition of collaboration; frequent, informal communication among partners; flexibility and creativity in sharing resources to meet needs.

Partnership highlights

• In 2000-01, the Adult Education Center and its partners served more than 2,100 learners across five counties.
  
  
• North Idaho College has a strong workforce development mission, and it supports the Adult Education Center by acting as its fiscal agent, paying the Center’s rent and the director’s salary, and contributing office space and equipment.
  
  
• By serving as fiscal agent for many of the partners, NIC helps facilitate the sharing of resources.
  
  
• Instructors from all adult education outreach centers and partners are invited to participate in any professional development offered by the Adult Education Center.

Resources
Funding and in-kind support from North Idaho College; federal and state funds; other grants and resources from multiple partnerships.

Contact

Rex Fairfield, Director
North Idaho College Adult Education Center
501 Lakeside Avenue
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814-2199
(208) 676-8005
rex_fairfield@nic.edu

www.nic.edu/adulteducation