Portsmouth Adult Education Receives Great Bay Community College Community Partner Award

On Tuesday, April 11, SNHS’s Portsmouth Adult Education Program was honored in conjunction with two other Seacoast area Adult Education Programs at the Campus Compact annual meeting. As a result of more than 15 years of collaboration, the Portsmouth, Exeter and Dover Adult Education Programs were recognized with the presentation of the “President’s Community Partner 2017 Award.” Will Arvelo, Great Bay Community College (GBCC) President, presented the award at a luncheon held by the Campus Compact for New Hampshire. At this luncheon, over 200 college students, higher education staff and administrators, representatives of local K-12 schools and nonprofits came together to celebrate and recognize community service on college campuses across the state. The event was held at the SERESC conference center in Bedford, New Hampshire. Founded in 1997, Campus Compact for New Hampshire is a statewide consortium of college and university presidents and private sector partners who are united in their commitment to the civic purposes of higher education, whose mission is to be a catalyst to integrate community service and civic responsibility throughout the academic and student life goals of its member institutions.

The narrative statement for the award notes that, “For well over 15 years, GBCC has enjoyed a mutually beneficial partnership with its Adult Education neighbors in Exeter, Dover and Portsmouth…Personnel from the three organizations meet on a regular basis with Great Bay staff to share resources, schedules , and practices that support student success… They are transition experts; helping students to develop the skills and confidence to persist or change direction.” These remarks point directly to the value of the on-going collaboration from which adult learners benefit.

Over the years, the Seacoast Area Adult Education Programs have worked on a referral and student support system to smooth the way for transitions. Portsmouth Adult Education has representatives from Great Bay CC Admissions and Advising come to adult education classes to talk about what courses, degree and certificate programs they offer. GBCC’s Center for Academic Planning and Support (CAPS) services and staff members are critical to creating a safety net of support resulting in more successful transitions for Portsmouth adult learners. The Business & Training Center and the Work Ready NH program collaborates as service locations, by providing in-class presentations, written and online resources, and on campus visits. Portsmouth Adult Education organizes “Open House” group or 1:1 sessions on campus specifically designed for adult learners. Portsmouth has helped fine-tune GBCC summer “boot camps” for adult learners to become more familiar with the college culture and expectations. Portsmouth Adult Education Counselor, Rachel Owens, and Director, Kristie Conrad, are the facilitators and organizers of many of these activities, as well as critical links for follow-up support to ensure that those adults who transition into GBCC, find the support and consultation they need to be successful.

Two years ago, the Seacoast Adult Education Centers began to provide the developmental levels of math, reading and writing courses at Great Bay CC campus and at Adult Education Centers. This success has resulted in additional course offerings at both the GBCC Portsmouth and Rochester campuses. It has also taken on a statewide dimension, with other members of the Community College System collaborating with their local Adult Education Centers to replicate the Seacoast model partnerships, where Adult Education provides developmental college preparation courses.

Portsmouth Adult Education stepped into the arena of developmental courses this Winter/Spring 2017 semester at Great Bay CC, offering a tuition-based “Communication Skills for English Language Learners” course on campus. ELL’s from Adult Education Centers, Great Bay CC, and the general population are able to enroll in this course as a part of preliminary exploration of college level learning expectations. This course focuses on building and enhancing those critical communication skills that ELL’s need to better understand and adapt to the US community college culture (such basics as texting and telephone etiquette, basic writing skills, grammar, sentence skills, citation and research skills, etc. are covered). Portsmouth Adult Education will continue to offer this class in the Fall 2017 semester at Great Bay CC.

To learn more about Portsmouth Adult Education, contact Rachel Owens or Kristie Conrad at, 422-8233.