Community Education Programs

Dr. Chang Scott Rafalski commented on Blogs 1 and 2 on 3/12 Thanks.  
Dr. Change Katrina Owens commented on Groups 1 & 4 blogs on 3/9/14.
Jillian Scholten commented on Groups 4 & 5

Community Education Programs

Group3

Jillian Scholten, Scott Rafalski, John Murray & Katrina Owens

EDAC 648

Ball State University

March 8, 2014

According to the text titled, Linking Adults with Community: Promoting Civic Engagement through Community Based Learning, the idea of community engagement in higher education is to promote awareness of moral and civic responsibilities of that institution. It is also the responsibility of that post-secondary institution to ensure the teaching and research activities answer to the questions of the society, culture, economy, health, safety and environment in which it stands.  For the purpose of our project is to take a closer look at the community college and the programs offered within a northern Indiana city called Elkhart.  

Elkhart, Indiana has a population of 51,152 people according to the U.S. Census of 2012.  The median resident age of this community is 32 years old.  Elkhart has characteristics that offer a quality of life with good schools, friendly neighborhoods, wide range of recreational activities, parks, restaurants, museums and churches along with various other fun things to see and do.  As you continue to read below you will find detailed information and the evaluation of some programs and education offered in Elkhart.  

            Elkhart, Indiana is an interesting community to study.  In December of 2007 Elkhart had an unemployment rate of 4.7% which wasn’t that far off from the nation average at that time (Hall, 2009).  By December 2008 The Labor Department stated that Elkhart County, Indiana, had the highest jobless rate in the U.S. at 15.3% (Hall 2009).  Things got so bad that President Obama visited during his campaign that year.  Several things changed within that time period.  Elkhart for decades has been a leader in RV (recreational vehicles) production and signs even point out that Elkhart was known as the RV capital of the world.  However, as gas prices soared and sky rocketed the demand, need and sales for RV’s not only declined they plummeted.  RV companies went bankrupt and 1000’s were laid off with no other jobs available and some didn’t have any other skill(s) to rely on.  Elkhart’s rates have improved with the most recent unemployment rate sitting at just over 7%.  They have a large Hispanic population that came to Elkhart to work within the factories and the RV industry.  

            Most of the Community Education providers in Elkhart relate directly to addressing the unemployment rate through job training and education.  They are really trying to retrain and reeducate an entire community and in some ways to move on from the RV industry.  Assistance and funding is taking place from the community, state and federal levels.  

Major Community Education Providers

Elkhart Chamber of Commerce http://www.elkhart.org/ 

            The chamber offers a leadership academy. Interested community individuals can apply online through the website listed.  The academy is a nine month commitment and meets once a month along with an overnight retreat.  Once completed individuals graduate from the program.  The academy builds relationships, allows for local issues to be discussed and promotes stewardship.  Those that graduate are then invited back to mentor the next year’s academy and to create the curriculum.  Most of the leaders within the community have graduated with this program and continue to work for it. 

Small Business Development Center http://www.elkhartcountybiz.com/master-programs-workforce-assistance.aspx 

The small business development center is dedicated to helping small businesses grow with a variety of low cost services.  Services include but are not limited to one-on one business advising, workshops, courses, business planning software and library resources.  Services are available for all residents free of charge.  

Elkhart Community School Adult and Continuing Education Program http://www.elkhart.k12.in.us/4_community/Fall2013.pdf 

            The courses offered are for adults wanting to learn a hobby, develop skills needed to compete in today’s workforce or stay healthy and fit.  Classes are offered within different disciplines.  For example under industry the program offers; Welding, HVAC, Electrical wiring and code and AutoCAD.  Computer skills are offered at all levels and are really considered separate from industry.  Medical terminology and Certified nursing assistant (CNA) are offered under the medical fields.  English as a new language is also offered.  Under hobbies individuals can learn how to make jewelry, photography, debt management, cooking and marketing.  Under health and wellness classes are offered in Yoga, Pilates, Zumba, Ball room dancing and Line dancing.  Most of these classes are taught by licensed instructors or teachers.  There is a cost associated with these programs and many can be $100’s of dollars.  

Elkhart General Hospital http://www.egh.org/

 

            The hospital provides emergency medical service classes and a certificate in EMS. For those interested they then can move on to basic EMT, advanced EMT and even take paramedic courses through the hospital that can lead to an associate’s degree from Vincennes University.   The hospital also provides CPR training for citizens of the community.  

Safe Kids  http://www.elkhartcountyhealth.org/safekids.php 

             

Safe Kids is a nationwide program dedicated to eliminating accidental death and injury to children.  They educate adults and children by teaching them to create safe environments and advocating for more effective laws.  All individuals all voluntary and the program began in Elkhart in 1991.  

Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department http://www.elkhartcountysheriff.com/explorer.html 

            The sheriff’s department offers explorers a program that teaches gun safety, marksmanship and respect for the law and officers.  Classes are taught in the classroom, on the range and also through ride-along.  Costs for the program are very low and meetings typically take place in the evenings. 

Ivy Tech Community College

Elkhart is home to one of the 31 branches of Ivy Tech Community College. This college provides an affordable option for students wanting to stay close to home or who are already busy working and providing for their families. Ivy Tech is the largest public postsecondary institution in the state of Indiana and impacts almost 200,000 students each year. The region Elkhart belongs to, including Elkhart, Kosciusko, Marshall, and St. Joseph counties, serves nearly 15,000 students annually. Ivy Tech is also a large employer in the area, bringing 3,500 jobs.

This location in particular has a program geared toward adult learners. The program is called Potentials Unlimited Learning Lab, or PULL. This program works with students ages 18 to 60. The purpose of PULL is to transition students into the college learning environment, who may not have originally been ready out of high school or have had a break in their education. The program explores career possibilities, teaches keyboarding skills, and offers remedial courses in math, reading and writing. A benefit of the PULL program is the small class size and convenience of being centralized in their community.

To become a member of PULL, students must meet with an advisor and take care of financial aid. Many students even qualify for grants and tuition assistance. Many local businesses also contribute to the program including the City of Elkhart, Indiana General Assembly, and the Northern Indiana Workforce Investment Board.

Many students in the area have issues keeping them from receiving an education; this program is there to help them break down the barriers. With such a high unemployment rate at one time and a continuous struggle to make ends meet, students find the resources and support they need through the PULL program.

The PULL program has a laboratory that has been used in recent years to file unemployment information. A computer technician and bilingual representative are always on hand for assistance. This provides a great resource for those looking for jobs.

Tolson Community and Youth Center www.elkhartindiana.org

 
 
           The mission of the Tolson Center reads as follows: “The Tolson Center Staff is committed to providing high quality engaging activities and positive educational support to empower and equip the youth of the Elkhart community toward a lifetime of hope and success.”

       In a phone interview with the Center's program coordinator, Rechica Ledesma informed of family friendly programming that incorporates music to help build inter-family bonds within the community.  Special events such as the family Easter egg hunt, “Pee-wee March Madness” (a youth basketball league), and their Cinco de Mayo celebration all seek to strengthen and foster communal relationships through engaging activities.  Events cater to not only youth and families but senior citizens as well.  Each Monday they hold life-enrichment classes that focus on a variety of subjects, such as arts and crafts, internet navigation, health issues, and/or physical therapy exercises. 
 

Elkhart Area Career Center www.myeacc.org

            The Elkhart Area Career Center offers 25 different programs for high school juniors and seniors from 16 schools from Elkhart and surrounding communities.  Instructors are all state certified teachers, and come with a great deal of experience in their respective fields.  Classes are broken down into five main categories that include: construction, graphics and media, service industry, manufacturing and engineering, and transportation.  These classes offer hands-on experience that is immediately transferable to the workforce.   Beyond the main skills, ethics and job place etiquette is also incorporated into the curriculum for a better-rounded product.  The Center notes that many of its students go on to pursue certification and degrees in their chosen fields, utilizing the college credit that these courses provide them through partnering colleges.

Elkhart Youth and Community Center www.elkhartycc.org

            The Elkhart Youth and Community Center utilizes physical activity to help foster youth/family development, healthy lifestyles, and an awareness of social responsibility.  A wide variety of wellness programs are provided to allow all community members opportunities for personal development.  Programs include family days, parent/child swim lessons, massage therapy, tae kwon do, soccer, seasonal youth camps, life-long learning classes, book clubs,  Bible study groups, and cooking courses just to name a few.  Moreover, the Center heavily encourages volunteer participation and assistance in aiming to promote civic duty and community development.

Elkhart Indiana has many organizations and business that are involved within the community to offer services that would benefit those that live there.  Elkhart has all the perks and offerings of a big city but with the small town hospitality.  The Chamber of Commerce offers leadership training to any resident interested. The small business center provides local small business with support that is needed to succeed.  The continuing education programs offered to adults who want to learn something new and possibly gain a new hobby while doing so.  There is also the Elkhart and Tolson youth and community centers that provide wellness programs along with family friendly programming that incorporates music to help create a family bonding environment within the community. There are many educational programs like from the career center that overs 25 different programs to high schools juniors or seniors in order for one to gain a valuable skill.  Then there is the state’s largest post-secondary institution, Ivy Tech Community College that has implemented a program called PULL to bridge the gap of residents that did not attend college right after high school or took an education hiatus.  In all Elkhart, Indiana is to remain on the radar for community engagement, involvement, education and innovation. 

Resources

Hall, Mimi.  Obama Visits Job Starved Elkhart, Indiana USA Today 2/9/2009 retrieved from

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-02-08-elkhart_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip. 

Ivy tech program gets adults to think about continuing education. (2013, Dec). Retrieved from

http://www.goshennews.com/entertainment/x1636702815/Ivy-Tech-program-gets-adults-to-think-about-continuing-education

Main Entrance of Ivy Tech Community College Elkhart

Photo retrieved from: http://www.cripe.biz/work/ivy-tech-elkhart-campus/

North central. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ivytech.edu/northcentral/

Potentials unlimited learning lab. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.ivytech.edu/northcentral/pull.html

                                                           

	Providers	Programs	Projects	Initiatives	Suggestions for practitioners
Case 1	City of Elkhart	Leadership academy through Elkhart Chamber of Commerce The academy is open to interested individuals in the community	Small Business Development Center is dedicated to helping surrounding small business grow. The center provides one on one advising, workshops, courses and business planning. Services are offered free of charge to all Elkhart residents.	Safe Kids Nationwide initiative geared towards the elimination of accidental and injury death in children.	Acceptance and sense of belonging in community circles by having group activates and discussions.
Case 2	Ivy Tech Community College	PULL geared towards students 18-60 years of age	PULL is designed to help students transition into a college learning environment that have either taken a break from school or were not ready out of high school
Case 3	Elkhart & Tolson Youth and Community Centers Career Center	Family Programming and youth sports along with physical activity    Holistic wellness		Job skills and ethic courses  immersion of learning to help strengthen and train community workforce	Utilization of family oriented events in conjunction with wider known holidays and seasonal opportunities