The state of Maine has a valuable resource for economic development and individual opportunity in its 126 locally based adult education programs, located in most Maine high schools.

Adult education programs were initiated in Maine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily in urban areas, to meet multiple community needs: training workers and integrating immigrants and those returning from military service among them. In rural areas, they began in the 1960s and 1970s, motivated by interest in lifelong learning, literacy, high school completion and building community support for school districts.

Adult education programs are recognized as a way for a school system to involve the residents without children in the school system. Classes bring people into school facilities, allowing them a chance to realize a personal return on their investment of tax dollars and to see what is going on in today’s schools through being in the building.

Lifelong learning is usually mentioned by school boards in designing their mission statement. The adult education program is the manifestation of this. Adult education programs are a vehicle for community-building. In former times, the Grange, Farm Bureau, Extension and church groups provided “adult education.” In modern times, schools are the heart of the community, and adult education programs provide this community connection and educational role.

Adult education programs provide “alternative” education and are a re-entry point for those young people who drop out of high school.

In the current No Child Left Behind and Maine Learning Results environment, it is critical that adult education work closely with the high schools to provide mutual support in serving our young people and drawing them back into education.

Adult education’s role in college transitions is widely recognized in Maine; most recently by the community college system, the Legislature, Gov. Baldacci, the Melmac Educational Foundation and the Compact for Higher Education. The somewhat-unheralded role adult education has played for 15 years in making the ITV system of the University of Maine a success is also increasingly recognized.

Adult education is an economic development facet of every community. The workplace is changing, the school-age population is dropping rapidly, and the existence of adult education is an asset to communities, especially in rural Maine. The service to Maine’s dislocated workers during the past decade has been a major focus of adult education, with more than 3,000 workers from more than 100 companies served in the past three years, and thousands more since the start of plant closings in the 1980s. Adult education programs work closely with the Maine Career Centers.

Adult education must remain “local” to be available to rural Mainers. Communities in relative isolation must continue to provide opportunity to adults who are balancing the pressures of work, family and their education and often cannot commute to access classes. Distance learning offers tremendous opportunity for growth, but the “high-touch” support valued by adult learners must accompany the “high-tech” delivery mode. Adult education must be a very entrepreneurial facet of the modern school system. A program must be nimble in recognizing trends, offering programs and courses that attract diverse community sectors, and build on talents available within the community.

These programs often are the research and development component of education, developing new learning opportunities. For example, in many districts the first computers were introduced through adult education. The funding for adult education programs is a combination of local tax dollars, state funding, plus some federal and foundation grants. The bang for the buck is tremendous.

As Maine confronts new demographic and economic realities, the state should recognize the value of adult education. The Maine Department of Education and Commissioner Susan Gendron have included adult education at the table in all of her initiatives, including Pre-K-16 Task Force, the Learning Results rewrite, the joint task force with Department of Labor on workforce issues, and on a variety of post-secondary efforts.

It is also at the table with many committees involved with the university and community college systems. The Maine Legislature has a special respect for adult education based in the personal experiences of legislators with their local programs. Maine’s congressional delegation is united in efforts to restore the ill-advised cuts proposed in the federal budget.

Adult education programs in Maine are a vital component of the local school systems, serving more than 120,000 individuals annually. This is possible because of the sponsorship of local school districts. We are in an environment of competing and confusing budget priorities and must not lose sight of the treasure adult education represents.

Cathy Newell is the executive director of the Maine Adult Education Association, www.maineadulted.org.