W.Va. honors Raleigh County Adult Learning Center

Sep. 28—The Raleigh County Adult Learning Center is growing to meet the needs of its community.

And those efforts are being noticed.

The learning center was honored recently as the West Virginia Adult Education Program of the Year. Each year, the West Virginia Adult Education Association honors a full-time program which provides adults with the opportunity to acquire and improve their educational and employment skills to become self-sufficient and enhance the quality of their lives and assist in transitioning to postsecondary education and training, the workforce and job market.

"Earning this award is an honor," said Tammy Toney, the lead teacher overseeing both classrooms of the RCALC. "It confirms that our center has excelled in enrollment, contact and distance education hours, percentage of measures met and serving those most in need.

"It was an honor to be named West Virginia's Adult Education Program of the Year. We have an excellent staff that go above and beyond to meet the needs of our adult learners. We are able to reach those with the most need in our community due to positive relationships with our key partners" — The Academy of Careers and Technology, Southern Educational Services Cooperative, Region 1 WorkForce, Department of Rehabilitation Services, Department of Health and Human Resources, Jobs & Hope WV, and New River Community and Technical College.

In addition to Toney, Shannon Bailey is a teacher at The Learning Center in Beckley and Denise Ballard is a teacher at The ACT classroom. The center is located at 306 S. Kanawha St., Beckley, in the Southern Communications Building.

According to Toney, the Raleigh County Adult Learning Center provided services to 420 students last year.

"Students come to our center for many reasons — to prepare for the high school equivalency exam (HiSET); to review basic skills in reading, writing and math; improve job readiness skills; prepare for entrance exams such as ACT, LPN and ASVAB; to earn industry-recognized credentials such as Microsoft Office certifications; to explore new careers; and take advantage of the center's distance education opportunities."

Overall, the program has extended its outreach in recent years, Toney said. "With the growing needs in our community, Raleigh County was able to hire a third full-time teacher at our center," she said. "We offer many computer-based programs and provide our adult learners with several distance learning opportunities.

"Thanks to the support of Charles Pack, principal and CTE director at The Academy of Careers and Technology (ACT), and Kevin Bolen, coordinator of adult programs at ACT, Adult Education now has a second classroom located at ACT."

Raleigh County Adult Education provides placement testing services and soft skills training to all adult learners at ACT.

Individuals who are interested in learning more about the programs can call 304-256-3964 or visit the website at rcadultlearningcenter.net to make contact, or call 304-256-3964 or like on Facebook at Raleigh County Adult Learning Center.

There is no charge for any of the center's services.

Email: skeenan@register-herald.com or follow on Twitter @gb_scribe