ELPCC : Community Education Program Named Bellwether Award Finalist

El Paso TX

03 November, 2021

10:34 AM

Description

Press release from the El Paso Community College: November 2, 2021 El Paso Community College's (EPCC) Community Education Program (CEP) was named an award finalist in the Instructional Programs & Services category for the highly-coveted Bellwether Awards. The Bellwether College Consortium announced its list of 30 community college selected as 2022 finalists. Bellwether finalists represent leading community colleges whose outstanding and innovative programs and practices were recognized as exemplary. The Community Education Program was designed to address the critical challenge of local residents, including migrant workers and their families, who lack access to educational opportunities. The program instructs students in many areas, such as English as a Second Language (ESL), literacy, and General Education Development (GED) preparation, and implements the College's highly successful High School Equivalency and College Assistance Migrant Programs. It also offers Spanish literacy, transition to college assistance, computer literacy, health literacy, creative writing and other educational and support services. "EPCC's Community Education Program (EPCC-CEP) excels in serving economically and academically disadvantaged residents with high quality educational and support services at no cost to participants," Program Director Andres Muro said. "CEP strives to serve difficult to reach students not served by other programs." The EPCC-CEP program uses GED classes as a springboard to help participants access even more opportunities, such as higher education or military career paths. The CEP bridges education and support services by providing a roadmap for its participants to pursue further education and opportunities for success. EPCC-CEP is partially funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Education and also partners with more than 20 community organizations. "EPCC's Community Education Program helps educate, support and empower students and their families to have better lives and futures," Dr. William Serrata, EPCC President said. "Being a 2022 Bellwether finalist for this important work is a testament to EPCC's commitment to improving lives and strengthening our region." The Bellwether College Consortium is a group of colleges charged with addressing the critical issues facing community colleges through applicable research and the promotion and replication of best practices. "The Bellwether College Consortium prides itself on identifying and celebrating replicable, scalable and results-based programs and models for disseminating these highly lauded examples of institutional success to peer institutions," Dr. Rose Martinez, director of the Bellwether College Consortium said. The Instructional Programs and Services category recognizes programs and services that foster or support teaching and learning in the community college. The following ten institutions were named finalists in the Instructional Programs & Services Category: All finalists will be presented at the Community Colleges Futures Assembly scheduled for January 30, 2022, where one winner will be selected. This press release was produced by the El Paso Community College. The views expressed here are the author's own.