The Charboneau Learning Center

                                                  A Program of The Literacy Project

                                                          15 Bank Row, Suite D

                                                          Greenfield, MA 01302

                                                             413-774-3935

                                                 www.literacyproject.org/charboneau.html

                                                     October 2005

Successes/Highlights

GED Graduation

Over 35 graduates participated. They had earned their GED's over the past 3 years.  At least a dozen of these were

former Charboneau Students.  Even Start and North Quabbin graduates were also well represented.  The Career

Center GED class also had its share of graduates.

 

This event was planned and run by the Greenfield Family Literacy Collaborative, which is the entity that runs Even

Start.  GCC is one of the members of this collaborative, and President Robert Pura was the evening's host and a

speaker.   The GED Commissioner  from DOE, Tom Mecham,  delivered the Commencement Address and handed

 out diplomas. 

GCC Orientation

Jean Boucias from the testing office and Sarah Scarchilli-Janus  from the admissions office made a presentation to

 the afternoon GED for Success Class.  A few students from the Morning Class and the Evening Class also attended.

   and . . .

Achievements by Learners

   1 learner Advanced-in-job/Got better job

   8 learners Completed Essay/Significant writing project

   5 learners Enlisted Supportive/Safety Services

   1 learner Got a drivers license

   4 learners Got a job

   1 learner Got a library card

   1 learner Interviewed for job

   1 learner Obtained Stable Housing

   1 learner Opened a checking/savings account

   5 learners Read a book

   1 learner Resume Completed

Class Activities

Louise's Morning ABE class did a unit contrasting and comparing vertebrates and

invertebrates in Biology.  They also worked through a unit on the Civil War.  Reading, current

events, and Math (decimals and fractions) are ongoing.  There were also some language

activities comparing and contrasting phrases and sentences.

In Joe's morning class, students continued to respond well to the clarification, development,

and ultimate planned  institution of an expectation that students complete at least one

"finished" writing project per month.  They also worked with a framework for understanding

and remembering facts about the Civil War: "Events Before", "Events During", "Events

Afterward" and "Important People".  Lots of GED reading and "item analysis" went into an


  ongoing unit on Scientific classification systems as we worked with the Linnaean Classification

 System of Living Things, a system that many scientists think should be obsolete because it

does not adequately reflect understandings built upon the theory of evolution.

The new afternoon "G.E.D. for Success" class (non rates based) still had only two students. 

These two young men took every advantage the special freedoms and opportunities of such a

small group.  They both pushed their "writing muscles" with serious and concentrated

attention to drafting, structure, and revisions. They also developed an online lesson system

for learning measurements which includes both drill and multi (MULTI!) step word problems

they developed. One of them went so far as to develop an interactive glossary to explain the

"nutritional" terms used in a word problem involving an evil witch's REVOLTING recipe to be

divided equally between 50 unfortunate children.

Like the morning classes, the Evening GED class is operating at near full enrollment with

reasonably good attendance rates.  This class is the most diverse in terms of abilities and

interests with two regular attendees devoting the majority of their class time to college course

 work assigned by their professors at GCC.  Students without the college pressures are

responding well to our own developing writing expectations.   And, like the rest of the GED

level classes, they have given us positive feedback on the Mesopotamia activities which are

primarily presented (on an individual basis) as either language development activities or as

introductions to the Moodle online course system.

Additional Information:

      14 days of classes     Class Contact Hours:  664.50    47.4 hours per day     (about   20 learners in classes per day)

  Inquiries and Others Served:       20

  Total Enrollment:                     39

 

 

 

 

ATTENDANCE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12+ hours

 

23

59%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2-11 hours

 

11

28%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<2 hours

 

5

13%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

39

 

 

 

 

 

ETHNICITY

Intakes

Enrolled

 

 

 

 

 

REFERRALS

Intakes

Enrolled

 

AmerInd/Alaskan

1

0

0%

 

 

 

 

Career Center

1

5

13%

Asian

0

1

3%

 

 

 

 

Community College

1

3

8%

Black

0

2

5%

 

 

 

 

Employer

0

1

3%

Cape Verdean

0

0

0%

 

 

 

 

Flyers/Publicity

0

2

5%

Haitian

0

0

0%

 

 

 

 

Library

0

2

5%

Hawaiian/PI

0

0

0%

 

 

 

 

Court/Probation

0

3

8%

Hispanic

0

3

8%

 

 

 

 

Public School

0

1

3%

IndianSub

0

0

0%

 

 

 

 

Social Agency/Gov't Org

2

10

26%

White

5

33

85%

 

 

 

 

Word of Mouth

2

10

26%

Other/Not Given

0

0

0%

 

 

 

 

Other

0

2

5%

 

6

39

 

 

 

 

 

 

6

39