Cortez adult education center moves to bigger Second Street site
The free program for adults 17 and older has left its cramped former home and will show off the new building at an open house Thursday.
The Cortez Adult Education Center has moved into a larger building at 640 E. Second St., KSJD reported Monday. The space was previously used by Unlimited Learning.
Executive director Susan Hakanson told the station the center had outgrown its old home, where the classrooms were tight and a steep staircase made the building hard to get into for anyone with an injury or a mobility limitation. The Second Street building has larger classrooms, more parking and entrances at ground level.
The center prepares adults for the high school equivalency exam and teaches English as a second language, along with basic literacy tutoring and career advising. It also helps students around practical obstacles that have nothing to do with coursework — buying a pair of glasses, arranging a ride, getting through a federal financial aid form, paying for a job certification. Classes are free to anyone 17 or older.
Hakanson told KSJD the center expects to work with more than 200 students this year across its Cortez and Durango sites, among them speakers of as many as 15 languages, and that in-person classes matter most to students who have struggled with online coursework.
An open house is set for Thursday, October 8 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the new building, with a ribbon cutting at 5 p.m. The center lists its phone number as 970-564-7004.
KSJD’s full report is at ksjd.org.