A $2,775 grant

will help more Adult education students get their GED.
By Donna M. Perry
Staff Writer

LIVERMORE FALLS – Carrie Castonguay was excited Monday about all the people she could help get general educational development diplomas.

She and others at the SAD 36/Jay Learning Center also have a promotion scheduled for Thursday night’s Independence Day parade to encourage people to come in to take a course. They’ll be handing out tuits, similar to wooden nickels that give the holder $10 off an enrichment or computer class at the center on Main Street. Courses range from one day to 15 weeks. The center will have a float set up on the back of a truck in a classroom setting.

Barbara Purington and Castonguay will be passing out the tuits during the parade that begins at 5 p.m. on Main Street in Jay.

Castonguay of Jay is the coordinator of the SAD 36/Jay Adult Basic Education Program. She recently received a $2,775 grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. She bought 250 GED preparation books to help people get a diploma. The books line several shelves in her office. There are 50 books each on math, reading, writing, social studies and science.

“It’s real exciting,” Castonguay said. “We have the potential to serve 50 people to 250 people with these books.”

Castonguay and her husband, Roland Castonguay, and their daughters, Mariah, 7, and Catie, 8, moved back to Jay six years ago.

She has been the ABE coordinator since last October and worked as a GED prep teacher for the remainder of the five years she has been there.

Castonguay said her favorite part of her job is the people she meets and gets to know.

“It’s hard to explain,” she said. “We get a rush – we just get so excited when the light bulb goes on for someone and we realize they understand the concept we’ve explained.”

When Castonguay first started Cole-Haan shoe manufacturers closed its Livermore Falls plant. More than 200 people lost their jobs, and the center was swamped with workers who wanted to retrain.

Now, people who worked at Forster Inc. in Strong, which closed in June, are starting to come in to see what’s available.

Castonguay said she and others at the center are trying to do some different things to reach out to the community.

The adult education program and the Wilton CareerCenter have teamed up to offer help to people needing to make a transition to a new career in today’s workforce.

Purington will be teaching Real Times-Real Life certificate program for those interested in skills to help them work through the changes. The nine-week course will be held 1-3 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays starting July 9. To register either, stop by the CareerCenter on routes 2 and 4 in Wilton or phone the center at 645-5800.

Castonguay also wants to set up a life skills program at the Livermore Falls center. She already has had a stove, refrigerator, washing machine and dryer donated. The class would teach people how to budget, how to grocery shop and understand labels and prices among other skills.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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