LIVERMORE FALLS — Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education was featured last week in a PBS NewsHour segment on the work of adult education in Maine.

Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education was featured in a June 11 PBS NewsHour segment. Pictured during taping are instructor Betsy Bremner standing, students Anna Crockett and Carol Palmer both of Jay, cameraman Tom Pakulski and audio technician Rob Sylvain. Livermore Falls Advertiser photo by Pam Harnden

The national news story focused on low-level literacy and how adult education centers are working with learners to increase their basic skills and finding/creating employment pathways. Spruce Mountain, Maine School Administrative District #52 and Portland Adult Education were the three locations featured.

In a January email, adult education director Robyn Raymond said, “PBS reached out to the Maine Department of Education and asked to highlight an adult education program making an impact in local communities – particularly meeting the needs of older learners identified as having low-level literacy skills living in multi-generational poverty.
“Our program has been selected for a national news story to showcase the barriers our learners face. This story will encompass their coping skills for literacy/numeracy struggles hidden from friends, employers, and educators, as well as how they are actively breaking the cycle through adult and community education resources at Spruce Mountain.
“I view this as an opportunity to say on a national platform: education has a profound impact on local economies, quality of life, and community development — here are their faces and their stories.”
PBS’ Kavitha Cardoza and a camera crew visited the education center this spring to conduct interviews with staff and students. Raymond first took them on a tour of the Jay–Livermore Falls area. The crew then taped Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education Instructor Betsy Bremner during a math class on square roots. Students Anna Crockett and Carol Palmer, both of Jay, used a calculator to determine square roots, then practiced going back and forth between square roots and squares to solve word problems.
The crew also filmed part of a Certified Medical Assistant class taught by Franklin Memorial Hospital Clinical Director Tania Dawson.

The link for the PBS NewsHour segment is:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-36-million-american-adults-cant-read-enough-to-work-and-how-to-help-them

 

 

During a taping for a PBS NewsHour segment on low-level literacy in Maine, Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education Instructor Betsy Bremner works a math problem on the board. Students Carol Palmer and Anna Crockett, both of Jay, watch while cameraman Tom Pakulski and audio technician Rob Sylvain record the lesson. Livermore Falls Advertiser photo by Pam Harnden

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