Community Planning
Assessment of Needs and Assets
Ware Adult Education Center
and its
Community Planning Partnership
January 2003
I.
Introduction__________________________________________________________ 4
II. Community of Focus___________________________________________________ 4
Who lives in Ware?___________________________________________________ 4
III. Description of
Partnership_____________________________________________ 4
IV. Description of
Adult Education Services___________________________________ 5
V. Methodology__________________________________________________________ 6
Sources of Secondary Data______________________________________________ 7
Sources of Primary Data_______________________________________________ 7
Key Informants_______________________________________________________ 7
The Key informants___________________________________________________ 8
The student led survey_________________________________________________ 9
VI. Findings____________________________________________________________ 9
A. Summary of Secondary Data__________________________________________ 9
VII. Primary Data______________________________________________________ 10
Summary of
ABE/ESOL-Related Needs_____________________________________ 10
ESOL.______________________________________________________________ 10
School drop-outs and drop-out prevention________________________________ 11
Youth and Youth Homelessness________________________________________ 11
Developmental Disabilities____________________________________________ 12
Victims of Domestic Violence__________________________________________ 12
Transportation, childcare, class times and location, health_________________ 12
Transportation_______________________________________________________ 12
Child Care__________________________________________________________ 13
Computers, Employment Assistance,
Parenting skills_____________________ 13
Computer Skills_____________________________________________________ 13
Employment assistance_______________________________________________ 13
Parenting skills______________________________________________________ 13
No transition to college program_______________________________________ 14
Other Needs_________________________________________________________ 14
Reducing Isolation________________________________________________________________ 14
Referrals________________________________________________________________________ 14
Outreach________________________________________________________________________ 14
Substance Abuse_________________________________________________________________ 14
Probation_______________________________________________________________________ 15
General Community Needs_______________________________________________ 15
Teen Center_________________________________________________________ 15
Better Education_____________________________________________________ 15
Assets________________________________________________________________ 15
Assets within Ware
Adult Education Center__________________________________ 16
Relationship with the High School Guidance Office_______________________ 16
Reputation of WAEC in Town__________________________________________ 16
Relationship with the Quaboag Valley Business Assistance
Corporation_____ 17
The Students________________________________________________________ 17
Assets in the Community_________________________________________________ 17
The list of assets
resulting from the key informant interview question_____________ 18
VII. Implications for
Strategic Planning_____________________________________ 21
Strategic Planning - Future Plans of the organizations of
the Coalition Partnership_________________________________________________________ 22
WAEC's future plan of how to move toward a better referral
system: Error! Bookmark not defined.
I. Introduction
As a primary
partner in the Franklin/Hampshire Adult Education Community Planning
Initiative, The Literacy Project (TLP) has always understood that the most
effective way to reach a poor, isolated, rural population is through a regional
approach that develops educational sites in a number of towns rather than one
large central location. The Ware Adult Education Center (WAEC) is one of TLPÕs
six sites. Regional programs are
often the most effective models for service delivery in rural areas due to the
low population density.
In the community planning partnership process it was decided to
have Ware do its own assessment while having its demographics included in the
larger assessment report. Ware
would also form its own community planning partnership. The town has an existing coalition, The
Ware Coalition for a Better Community. The community planning for adult
education is being carried out within the existing entity (see appendix for partnership
list and affiliations).
II.
Community of Focus
The community of
focus for this report is primarily Ware and the other towns within Worcester
and Hampshire County that are served by WAEC. They are: Warren, the
Brookfields, and Hardwick. Fewer
students are also served from: Belchertown, Three Rivers, Palmer, Thorndike,
Granby, Monson, New Braintree, Brimfield and Barre. The demographics used in
the secondary data section are primarily for the town of Ware alone. The
primary data at times refers to the lives of learners in other towns listed as
greater Ware.
Who lives in Ware?
Ware is located
in the very rural southeast corner of Hampshire County, the eastern most town
in the county. Once a mill town, Ware is characterized by a strong ethnic base,
having substantial populations of Irish, French and Polish citizens. In recent years, textile mills have
closed, leaving a legacy of chronic high unemployment. Today, most people work
out of town, commuting to the larger urban areas. Scenic back roads around the
Quabbin Reservoir make it a nice place to visit on summer days.
A more
comprehensive description of the Ware region and who lives there is contained
in the larger report and in the Secondary Data Summary (pg. 9).
III.
Description of Partnership
For several
years, Ware has been served by a coalition of human service providers in the
area who have been working to create alternatives and revitalize the town. The
assessment of adult education services and the effort to create community
planning around this assessment prompted a special meeting of the Ware Adult Education Center in January of
2002. Contained in the appendix of
this report is a list of all who attended and their agency affiliations. The
gathering was well-represented, including but not limited to representation
from Ware Police Department, Valley Human Services (WareÕs sole Human Service
Agency, the Domestic Violence Shelter in Holyoke's Education Director,
representatives from local churches, banks, businesses, the town government,
children's services, the high school guidance department, professional
community planners for the Ware area, and former students.
Many ideas were
generated at the meeting and information exchanged. The 20 attendees outlined needs and assets that will be
factored into the various sections of the report. Those at the gathering were asked
to express what level of participation they could give to our community
planning project. Some Key
Informant interviews followed; seventeen of these interviews were
conducted (see list of informants and questions in methodology section pg. 7).
This data is compiled in the Primary Data Findings (pg. 10). A final key
informant interview was conducted with the Director of WAEC by the larger
assessment consultant.
Besides
identifying areas of need and key assets for adult education in the community,
in both the initial meeting and in the interviews, the group also discussed
community needs in a more general way and put forth suggestions for strategic
planning which will be outlined in the last section of this assessment.
When the group
meets again, they will continue the strategic planning process using this
report as a guiding document. The document will be circulated in advance, and
the partnership members will be asked to identify ways in which the data has
implications for the strategic planning process.
IV.
Description of Adult Education Services
The Ware Adult
Education Center is the only ABE service in the town of Ware. In FY02 the WAEC answered 154 inquiries, performed 78 intakes, and served 67
new students. A total of 85
students attended classes at least 12 hours per month. In addition, 34 students attended
classes for less than 12 hours per month. WAEC served during class time, 119
students or approximately 8% of those in Ware who might most likely benefit
from a high school diploma. Of these 119, 19 students obtained their GED in
FY02. Eighty per cent of the students were between the ages of 16 and 35 and
33% were between 16 and 18, 32% between 19 and 25 and only 15% were between 36
and 55 with 5% over 55. Seventy-two per cent were female and 28% male. (see FY2002 matrix of intakes in
Appendix).
In its report to one of its funders (CDBG), WAEC
described the trends and patterns of learners:
The vast majority of our students came to us with a grade level equivalent of less than 8th grade in either math or reading. Most people who entered the program have at least one of four predominant goals; to get a job (or a better job), to work toward obtaining a GED, to live independently, and to be able to help their children with homework. Often, there ar