The SJA Campus Will be Closed to the Public on April 8.

Adult Education Updates Course Offerings at New Location

September 21, 2022

St. Johnsbury Academy Adult Education kicked off its schedule of fall courses in late August at its new location in downtown St. Johnsbury. The program offers a variety of courses ranging from personal enrichment to professional development to training in the trades. The center had a soft opening in January, during which it hosted a weekend electrical coding class for electricians who needed to update their certifications. Since then, the school has trained over 300 adults in a spectrum of courses covering fields as diverse as Conflict Management and Commercial Driver’s Licensing.

 

Sandra Mings Lamar, the director of the Adult Education program, said, “There’s so much happening right now. We have classes in cooking, healthcare, office management, and fine arts. We are partnering with some of our neighbors in the new building to bring courses. For instance, in October, Jackie Fox will be offering a four-week photography class for adults who have an SLR camera, and want to know how to do more with it. Maybe they are comfortable pointing and shooting, but Jackie’s class will help them learn more about the camera’s capabilities and build an eye for framing their shots. In addition, we are already taking registration for our EMT course that will be taught in January. Our first ever EMT course happened last January and we had 22 enrollees. Now that we have this new space, we can offer more and cater to adult learners. We are so pleased with our new space and the opportunities that have come with it.”

 

The Academy’s adult education staff, director Sandra Mings Lamar and Adult Education Administrative Assistant Amanda Frattaroli, have been working hard to create partnerships in the community. For example, the EMT program is offered in partnership with District 5 Emergency Medical Services and the Commercial Driver Licensing course is offered in partnership with North Country Career Center and Precision Driver training. These partnerships help the program support the community and avoid creating competition for resources.

 

In addition to classes at the downtown location, the adult education program is offering a Workplace Training Program. Sandra Mings Lamar explained, “Many of the local businesses have sent their employees to our signature leadership program with Dr. Martha Dubuque. They are so pleased with the course that they have asked to have her teach in-house training courses for their personnel. In this program we have offered Stress Management, Conflict Management, and other topics that help personnel with the daily challenges of their job while making it more relevant to the climate and culture in their individual workplaces.” As a result of the success of the Workplace Training Program’s professional development for office workers, classes are now offered within factories, schools, grocery stores, hospitals, and other businesses to provide training catered to their field and their personnel.

 

St. Johnsbury Academy Adult Education aims to continue to work closely with the local community in the development of future curriculum, tying it to the needs of local people and businesses as much as possible. Although prospective adult students are no longer able to sign up for the classes that began in August, new courses are being continually added to the schedule and students can learn about and sign up for those courses on the adult school website. For a complete schedule of upcoming classes or other information, please visit the St. Johnsbury Academy Adult Education website: or contact director Sandra Mings Lamar at smingslamar@stjacademy.org or (802) 748-7738.

Related News