Adult learning lab opens facing Clark Park

Southwest Solutions has opened an Adult Learning Lab in Southwest Detroit to help adults improve their literacy, math and computer skills with an eye towards job readiness. The lab will provide GED preparation, English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, Adult Basic Education (ABE) and remedial educational support for those entering college.

The lab is equipped with 22 computers loaded with necessary and up-to-date software. "We have state-of-the-art equipment and it's a very cool space in a storefront, looking at Clark Park and right down the block from Cafe con Leche," says Linda West, director of Center for Working Families, the organization that runs the lab. "It looks good, it's very welcoming."

The lab, located at 4214 W. Vernor, is one of ten Adult Learning Labs in the city funded by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (DELEG). It is operating on a three-year grant of $100,000 a year. "What makes this program unique is that the connection between adult education and workforce development is central to this," says West. "The object here is that, within the context of people getting a job, there is getting a job with family-sustaining wages, there is access to post-secondary education, there is a GED...there is intake with people who come and see if there are any barriers and that will connect them to support services like child care, food stamps, workforce coaching, resume writing and computer literacy classes."

The lab will allow for independent learning, small group instruction and one-on-one tutoring. It will be open 40 hours a week with evening and Saturday accessibility. The lab expects to serve about 300 people a year, many of whom will be participants in Detroit GreenWorks Solutions. For more information about the Adult Learning Lab or to volunteer, please contact Tim McGorey at [email protected] or 313-451-8056.

Source: Linda West, Center for Working Families
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh