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COURIER LIFE, APRIL 1-7, 2022
New York City DOE opens 10 new adult education
enrollment hubs to make education more accessible
The New York City Department of Education (DOE)
announced the opening of 10 new adult education
enrollment hubs, aimed to help prospective students enroll
in programs to further their education and careers, serving
all languages.
The DOE offers free programs at over 170 locations
across all five boroughs to adults 21 and older to earn high
school equivalency degrees (HSE), take English and
Spanish language (ESL) classes or pursue career technical
learning (CTL) programs. These programs all aim to
advance the educational and career opportunities for
adults all across NYC, and with the addition of 10 new hubs,
organizers hope to streamline the process of application
and enrollment.
Spearheaded by Superintendent Robert Zweig of District
79, these enrollment hubs opened Feb. 7, and hopefully will
help those interested with accessibility to adult education.
Superintendent Zweig had previously worked on the
periphery of adult education, but started overseeing the
program three years ago.
“I’m kind of the driving force behind these enrollment
sites,” said Zweig in an interview with amNew York. “About
14 years ago or so we started this notion of referral centers
for our younger students and it was that idea that led me
to think about and work with members of our team in
creating these enrollment hubs and really the idea behind
it is to make access to adult education much clearer and
more seamless to adult residents across New York City.”
These hubs serve as the first point of contact for
interested students. Providing information regarding
class availability and career services so students select
the right programs to start their paths in education or for
job opportunities.
“Our program is going to be beneficial not just for the
ESL students, but also for potential students who want to
get their high school equivalency diploma,” said Anne
Bernard, principal of Bronx Adult Education Centers to
amNew York. “We have students in our program from age
21 all the way up to 81 who are in the process of learning
how to speak English and in the process of getting their
high school equivalency diploma in Spanish and or
transitioning out of our ESL classes and going into an
English HSE class to get their diplomas in English.”
In addition to HSE or ESL programs, prospective
students also have the opportunity to take classes that
cater to career interests in subjects such as welding and
mechanics, food service, telecommunication and medical
assistant. These career-oriented programs are available
at every adult education location and aim to help
students enter job fields and opportunities that would
otherwise be unavailable to them. These classes are also
taught in both English and Spanish.
For students with children or who are guardians of
siblings, childcare is also available at many adult
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education sites. Night and day classes are also options for
students in order to make adult education as accessible
as possible to help students get on track for better
working and educational opportunities. The emphasis on
childcare and flexible scheduling is crucial when it comes
to making adult education easy and accessible.
“Once we identify the areas that the student needs to
study, we can put together a schedule according to their
needs and in addition when it comes to childcare we also
run the LYFE program (Living for the Young Family through
Education), which provides educational childcare for the
babies of student parents,” said Stacey Oliger, a colleague
of Superintendent Zweig. “We actually serve those
students from the ages of six weeks to almost four years
old.”
With these 10 new enrollment sites opening, adult
educators hope that even more students sign up for
classes like high school equivalency and CTE programs for
the opportunity to improve their futures as well as their
children’s.
“From the child’s perspective, seeing an older sibling or
parent take their own education by the helm serves as a
model for that student,” said Bernard. “It serves as
encouragement and it leads that family into their own
personal goals, their own visions of their lives to uplift the
family in the direction of where they want to go with their
lives.”
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