Disaster Recovery Grants Project
A Program of The Barbara Bush Texas Fund for Family Literacy
Final Report, September 2009
College of the Mainland
The objectives of this program, as written were:
- to equip new classrooms.
- to obtain temporary classrooms for the rest of the program year.
- to replace lost text books.
- to enhance the flexibility of their delivery model through web-based instruction.
- to conduct marketing and recruitment efforts to inform students of the changed locations and continued operations.
The adult education program at College of the Mainland is the only federally-funded provider of adult education services to Galveston Island. The program accomplished the recovery objectives under this grant using dividers to create temporary classroom space, replacing damaged classroom furnishings including portable blackboards, and replacing lost textbooks. This program partnered with the Pregnancy and Parenting Support Center – a fellow Disaster Recovery Grant recipient - and provided adult basic and language instruction to their participants. This unanticipated collaboration enhanced the effectiveness of both grant recipients’ recovery efforts in serving the devastated Galveston Island community.
Student retention was markedly improved through the project period. Seventy-five students were inducted into the National Adult Education Honor Society and 16 ceremonies were held throughout the county. This incentive along with changes in program policy saw students complete, on average, 15 more contact hours per year than last year. Considering that these figures include the period of closure in and around the storm, they anticipate these continued activities in the new year will enhance this trend.
In addition, 48% of all students showed an instructional level completion, an increase of 10% over the last year. In fact, this year represents the highest level of academic achievement at College of the Mainland's Adult Education programs since the implementation of the National Reporting System.
Two hundred and fifty-five students completed their GED at College of the Mainland this year, an increase of 111 over last year. Participation in graduation tripled from 30 to 92 students. Awareness of the program has increased dramatically. Through enhanced outreach, they now have waiting lists of nearly 400 students for each enrollment. They anticipate opening five to six new sites in the coming year. This is the first time in several years that the program has had to implement a waiting list for adult education services.
Narrative Project Success
“Lena” is a 34 year-old mother of two. She enrolled in August in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at College of the Mainland as a returning student. Lena was employed as domestic help, but could find little work to enable her family to move from their rented house, which was damaged by the storm. Her family was displaced due to the storm and she was unable to return to College of the Mainland’s service area for several months afterwards. The home in which they lived had most of the windows broken out and the roof leaked, but there were few options available to her. When she returned to the damaged home, Lena received a mailing that encouraged her to return to class. She re-enrolled and made significant progress in her English language skills; nine weeks later, she enrolled in the GED program. After only one term, she passed her GED tests, was inducted into the National Adult Education Honor Society in March, and matriculated in May. Lena has been accepted as a credit student at College of the Mainland and intends to pursue a teaching career. She found work at a grocery store and moved into a new apartment.
“Juan” is thirty-two years old. He is married with two children and lives in Texas City. Although he completed high school in Mexico, he had no other formal training. He had worked for many years in lawn care, but after the hurricane, he obtained a position working construction in a local refinery. Juan worked very hard, but after a few months into the recovery effort, his employer explained that he would need to take safety tests to continue to work in the refinery. In his first attempt, he failed, primarily because the test was in English. Juan enrolled in one of College of the Mainland’s classes located at First United Methodist Church in Texas City. Despite the availability of immediate overtime at the refinery, he attended class regularly. With his teacher's help, Juan studied for the safety tests again. After nine weeks of class, he re-took the tests and passed. He was made a permanent employee with the company. In March, Juan's wife Maria enrolled in the same ESL class. Even though Juan works long hours, he intends to return for workforce training in the fall. Despite the difficulty in juggling school, work, and family, Maria hopes to improve her English to study early childhood development next year.
