Pursue Your Passion
Franklin Regional Adult School offers enrichment for local adults.
By Jennifer Brozak
A
s students headed back to classes
this fall, adults in Murrysville have a
chance to learn, too.
Each academic year, the Franklin Regional
Adult School, a nonprofit community
program, offers approximately 80 non-credit
courses in everything from cooking to
computers to gardening and craft making.
The Franklin Regional Adult School was
formed more than 50 years ago as a way to
help the school district’s teachers earn extra
money, says Sue Brooks, co-chairman of
the program. Today, courses are taught by
Franklin Regional teachers as well as other
local professionals.
Course fees vary from $15 to $60,
depending on the subject matter and length of
the course. Some of the more popular classes
are about living wills, taught by local attorney
George Kotjarapoglus, as well as water
aerobics and courses on using Facebook and
iPads. The fall semester began in September
and ends in November, and the spring
semester begins in March.
Fees from the programs are used to pay
instructors and for room rental fees.
“We’re an all-volunteer committee,” says
Brooks, who also works as a substitute
teacher. “As a nonprofit, we’re not expecting
to make money from the program.”
The enrichment program has grown quite
a bit from its early days. In the 1980s, for
example, the most popular course the school
offered was on how to cook with a microwave.
“We once had a waiting list of more than
40 people for that course,” says Brooks, who’s
been working with the committee since that
time.
Introductory computer courses also used
to be popular, but since computers are now
ubiquitous, the need for beginner courses has
waned so much that the program is having
trouble finding instructors to teach the classes.
The courses vary each semester and are
driven by student interest. At least five or
six students must be signed up for a course
to move forward, and the committee always
welcomes suggestions for new ones.
Several hundred students wind their way
through the program each year. Brooks says
the program’s proximity to home stimulates
interest.
“Of