CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – The Thomas Jefferson Adult and Career Education program at Piedmont Virginia Community College serves over 900 students each year across Central Virginia, offering high school credentialing and English Lessons that can open up new opportunities for those involved.
“We are all about serving everyone in our community that wants to learn,” said Carol Coffey, director of TJACE at PVCC.
Class capacity is limited by the amount of federal funding the program can get, Coffer described. However, this year, new hybrid courses aim to expand access and get more people into the classroom.
“With just a small fee, we figured out a way to add these additional classes so that everyone can learn,” Coffey said.
Cher Stewart, volunteer coordinator with TJACE at PVCC, said that access can make a big difference for families and individuals.
“A lot of our students are parents, so they need to meet with their children’s teachers and schools on a regular basis, and go to the doctor and do all the things that we take for granted that we need English for,” Stewart said. “Basic English is important for everyone, and we’re all about access for everyone.”
Seventeen weeks of hybrid learning will cost students $150, and begins on January 20. Those efforts are built with the support of staff and volunteers at TJACE.
“When I come into this classroom and I see the faces of my students and I find out how I can best help them achieve their goals, solve their problems, they bring me so much joy,” Stewart said.
TJACE is always in need of volunteers to help and uplift students on their educational journeys, Stewart said.
“They realize that it’s very important for them to improve their lives, to be able to come and learn as much English as possible — and you can help them improve their lives,” Stewart said.
Coffey said that English as a Second Language, or ESL, courses can be a beginning, fostering pathways for students to continue learning at PVCC and beyond.
“PVCC is the community’s college, and it’s part of our DNA, part of our mission to make sure that we are serving all of our friends and our neighbors that are in our community with whatever educational need they have,” Coffey said. “[Getting] them focused on a pathway where they can continue to have lifelong learning and reach their goals and dreams that they have for themselves and their family.”
For more information on courses at TJACE or to volunteer, click here.
Hybrid courses begin for the spring semester on January 20.
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