Newtown Continuing Education Begins New Year

By Tanjua Damon

Now that most youngsters have begun another year of school, it is time for adults to hit the books. Newtown Continuing Education classes begin Monday, September 18.

The Newtown Adult High School Diploma Program will begin classes on Monday, September 18, and will run through November 9. English classes meet Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday from about 6:30 to 8:30 pm, according to Diane Thompson, director of Newtown Adult Education. There are also independent study courses offered that the State has approved. Students receive chapters and meet with a tutor and then are tested.

In order to participate in the Diploma Program, students have to be 16 years or older and have not received their high school diploma or GED certificate. The student has to be officially withdrawn from high school and obtain a transcript from the last high school they attended, according to Ms Thompson.  If you are 16 or 17 years old, you have to have a letter of withdrawal from your last high school.

There are 45 to 50 students in the credit diploma program at one time, she said.

The Newtown program is offered through Western Connecticut Regional and Adult Education (WERACE). Students must reside in the designated region of Bethel, Brookfield, New Fairfield, Newtown, Redding, and Ridgefield to take part in the Diploma Program, according to Ms Thompson. Classes are also being offered in Danbury and Bethel for the fall 2000 program. For more information about the diploma program, call 426-1787.

People interested in English As a Second Language (ESL) classes, GED prep classes, and Adult Basic Education courses will have to go to Danbury to take these courses because there are not enough interested students in the Newtown area to offer them, Ms Thompson said.

Newtown Continuing Education also has a variety of other programs that are offered to the general public. If you have an interest in woodworking, computers, yoga, or gardening then Newtown High School could be the place for you this fall. People take the courses for many different reasons, according to Ms Thompson.

“It varies,” she said. “It depends whether you want to get ahead in your business or learn to do things around the house or to just get out of the house.”

The programs are not free, she said. But courses are affordable and nearby.

“They’re inexpensive,” Ms Thompson said. “There not as expensive as if you went to the community college. And it’s close to home.”

For more information on the Newtown Continuing Education programs that are being offered for fall 2000, call 426-1787.