Hudson Community Education Releases Brochure of Class Offerings

The Hudson Community Education Fall & Winter 2011-2012 course offering brochure landed in mailboxes all over Hudson earlier this week, and for Community Education, it marked a key step in a stepped-up effort to grow the organization and better fulfill its mission. 

On Page 3 of the 34-page leaflet, Hudson Community Education, part of the , states its mission as the following:

"To provide self-supporting programming tailored to meet the personal and professional needs of the lifelong learner. Our goal is to enrich lives by offering educational and recreational opportunities to learners of all ages." 

Community Education Coordinator Michelle Hagen puts it a little more simply, "We see ourselves as a liaison between the public and the public's ability to use its tax-funded buildings to improve lifelong learning." 

The program is very humble right now. It operates on a shoestring budget with just Hagen and secretary Trisha Hering in an office co-located with the school district's school-age care program at Willow River Elementary School.

The duo is seeking to boost the program, which is predominantly just school-age care and limited recreational classes, into a thriving community resource.

"Last year we had a few adult classes, like computer classes," Hagen said. "We had swimming lessons for youth. We had very limited classes because we had stopped sending out our brochure."

This year the brochure is back, and it's more than just a simple course list. Community members may find that it's a useful booklet to just keep around the house, Hagen said. 

A quick flip through of the brochure finds a directory of school district contacts, information about community events and even some local advertising, which helped pay the brochure's printing and mailing costs.

And the class offerings are a little more robust than last year as well. There are youth classes for all-terrain vehicle safety, art, dance, literature, science and more. Adults can find classes in swimming, cooking, health, fitness, technology, parenting and other enrichment activities.

A PDF version of the course catalog is attached to this post, and also can be found on the school district's website.

Hagen is always seeking new instructors and new classes. Community members interested in teaching or leading a class or activity can find a class proposal form on Page 31 of the brochure. Accepted proposal will appear in another brochure next spring, Hagen said.