Adult learning center gets new name, sets new goals

Formed in 1978 as part of the Chariho Regional School District, the Washington County Adult Learning Center, in Wakefield, South Kingstown, went through a series of affiliations before becoming independent three years ago.

Now, the nonprofit agency is looking to expand its services. Last month, to reflect its new mission, it changed its name to the Education Exchange.

“Historically, people have come here to get a GED or external diploma [issued through Central Falls High School],” said Tom Brillat, the agency’s president. “We help people gain independence through education, and our core work has been basic skill-building.”
That work has included literacy classes, transition-to-college programs, computer classes, math workshops, English as a second language (ESL) classes, dropout-prevention programs and family literacy activities.

Now, although Brillat said the focus will not be drawn away from those programs, the agency’s newest goal is to draw in more businesses as clients.

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“One of the areas we hope to expand on is to do assessing,” he said. “Many employers check if employees have a criminal background, whether they are sex offenders and whether they have the diplomas they say they do, but don’t check whether they can read, write or do math. They ask if you have a college diploma or a high school diploma, and they make assumptions about that.”

Brillat said the agency could follow up on such assessments by giving individuals the help they need to build their skills.

“It’s a twofold thing,” he said. “We can either work with the employer, or the individual can come and participate in one of our programs. I see that as a growth area.”

Brillat said he also hopes to expand the agency’s programs in computer literacy. “In many ways, it appears it is becoming a basic skill,” he said. “I’m hoping to offer IC3 training and Microsoft Office training. We see that as a something that may be attractive to the business community.”

Though its emphasis on serving the business community is new, the agency has a history of providing employee training.

“We routinely work with area businesses, with anything from English-language proficiency to making sure employees understand safety manuals, or if they want their employees to have better math or writing skills,” he said. “And a lot of companies, as a benefit, will help employees get a GED or other basic education.”

Currently, the agency works with about two to three businesses a year, but Brillat would like to see the number increase. That, he said, would help the companies to have a better trained staff, help those individuals to be better prepared for life, and help the agency with funding.

“It would provide revenue that will help us grow our basic skills programs,” he said.
Currently classes range from $25 to $175, but because the agency doesn’t turn anyone away due to inability to pay, it has to rely heavily on state and federal grants.

“For those people who are really scraping to pay for food that week, even $25 can be substantial, so we don’t turn anybody away because of monetary issues,” Brillat said. “Our funding comes in a number of different ways, but is mainly from competitive grants. We receive a state grant and a federal grant – but there’s no guarantee you’re going to get it from one year to the next, so that makes life tenuous.”

By working with the business community, Brillat said, the agency could establish a more stable revenue stream. Employers not only would provide more clients, but the incremental income they provided would enable the agency to turn around and add more satellite locations.

“For us to reach our clients, we really need to spread out,” Brillat said. “We serve 250 to 300 people a year, and we have the capacity to increase that.”

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