Community Education program brochures Metro North ABE - Consortium newsletter, Oct. 2018 | Page 5

More than “basic”
Two organizations with different backgrounds, meeting
at common intersections, achieving a singluar goal.
As adult education specialists, we
strive to build trusting relation-
ships with our students that honor
each unique experience and set of
values. We promote the develop-
ment and enrichment of our stu-
dents' academic, professional, and
personal skills. We embrace diver-
sity and are responsive to our com-
munity's ever-changing needs. We
want our students to understand
that learning is a skill for life!
At Anoka-Ramsey Community
College and Anoka Technical Col-
lege, Metro North Adult Education
is an integral partner to help pro-
vide a supportive collegiate learn-
ing experience by reinforcing basic
academic skills, tools for academic
success, soft skills for professional
achievement, and the value of life-
long learning. Knowing how im-
portant our college partnerships
are, we have been working to re-
fresh and improve our relationship
with college students and staff.
Keen observers may have noticed
some changes recently in the way
we relate to our college partners.
We’re working hard to identify as
Metro North Adult Education at
our college sites, including a new
color scheme that merges the iden-
tifiable looks of the partner col-
leges and Metro North ABE to
identify as a cohesive partnership,
not just two stand-alone organiza-
tions.
We found that the phrase “Adult
Basic Education” was creating an
unnecessary obstacle for students,
and even the college partners, to
see us an effective support system
for developmental college students
and their programs. And so, we’ve
dropped the “basic” from our col-
lege partner materials. Truthfully,
what Metro North is doing in part-
nership with the local MN State
colleges is so much more than
“basic”. While that is also true
with everything ABE does, the
perception is a critical component
of our new relationship with the
colleges and the students there.
This important partnership serves
the same students pursuing the
same goals. By putting resources
and energy into programming on
the college campus, we provide
immediate support and connec-
tions to our students' next steps
(college, training programs, etc).
Sharing resources, ideas and per-
spectives with our partners works
to our students benefit. We are able
to access a wider range of re-
sources from the ABE and college
worlds that allow us to serve each
student holistically and find the
best way to help them get the sup-
port and resources they need to be
successful. The collaborative team
shares expertise that allows us to
develop effective and responsive
interventions as needed and assem-
bles a more developed product for
student success and growth. To-
gether, everyone achieves more.
A B E 1 0 1
Have you seen us
online lately?
We know our commu-
nity extends
beyond the doors
of the classrooms
and the streets that
connect us. During
the last year we have
taken the initiative to improve our
outreach online.
n 2017, Metro North ABE refreshed
its website with an updated layout,
color pallette and online support
tools.
In June of 2018, we joined
Facebook and have begun to build
our online community. We’re excited
to have this platform available to us
to share daily adventures in ABE.
“Like” us @metronorthabe
We use the hashtag #IAMABE-
an effort to recognize the many
achievements of ABE students to
build more awareness around how
ABE serves its communities.
Biratu Dunbar from level 5 at the Metro North ABE Adult Education
Center in Columbia Heights/Fridley recently became a U.S. Citizen.
Congratulations, Biratu!.
Metro North Adult Basic Education | Ph: 763-433-4200 | www.MetroNorthABE.org
October 2018
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