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Centennial
We ’ ve received many inquiries regarding the citizenship classes . There are 10 learners attending online and one in-person class . 96 % of them are women of color who had nearly no knowledge or awareness of civic participation . Most of the learners reported that they now feel more confident about the citizenship interview .
All the learners in the Level 5 class are employed women who want to learn about other career options and seek career development through English improvement . In this class , Metro North ABE staff provides both group and 1:1 instruction on job search , interviewing , resume writing , cover letter writing , completing online job applications , and embedding job skills . This class seems to be a great fit for them .
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Columbia Heights / Fridley
The Adult Education Center- Columbia Heights / Fridley began offering an online conversation class for ESOL learners since the onset of COVID-19 . This has been a popular offering for learners looking to connect with others during the past few challenging years .
Because of the high demand , the class had to be split into three class levels : Beginning , Intermediate , and Advanced . Three teachers offer the once-a-week leveled class . Every session offered has shown an increase in the number of interested learners .
Learners report they enjoy strengthening their speaking , listening , and reasoning skills while learning about peers from various cultures , languages , and backgrounds . Without fail , every Wednesday , learners in core classes seek reassurance by asking , “ Teacher , we have conversation class today , right ?”
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Elk River
Elk River ABE is experiencing an increase in new learners representing many countries and first languages . The area is definitely seeing growth in immigrant populations from countries that we didn ’ t serve even five years ago . The diversity of our learners enriches all learners and staff .
We have also been welcoming new volunteers at both our Handke Center and Dayton Mobile Hope sites . Our learners benefit so much from volunteer time and attention , and being without them during the worst of the pandemic was a hardship . We are grateful that people feel safe coming in to volunteer again .
As convenience and relevance are our primary goals , our flexible schedules and the choice of in-person and online classes continue to help our learners decide the best approach to meet their educational and career goals .
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“ I can ’ t do math .” As teachers at Metro North , we have heard this statement from many adult learners . Tammi Bernard , the instructor and site coordinator at St . Francis Learning Center , shared , “ I used to say this myself . Five years ago , I changed jobs and suddenly found myself helping learners prepare for the GED . This meant that I would need to brush up on my own math skills . I was terrified !”
Tammi studied math by using textbooks , online resources , and math manipulatives . “ I have discovered that math is very visual and hands-on for me . Many of our learners feel the same way . If you can touch and see math , you can understand it more clearly .”
“ Now , I love math ! I never thought I would say that .” Tammi wants learners to love or at least appreciate math , too . “ I encourage them to add the word ‘ yet ’ whenever they are having trouble understanding a math concept . ‘ I can ’ t do this yet .’” Tammi and all the teachers at Metro North ABE make math fun rather than it being an obstacle to learners ’ goals .
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