SHAEC in the News
SHAEC obtains $87,322 grant to fund GED, adult education and more
By Amy Porter | The Reminder | Westfield News | September 3, 2019
HILLTOWNS – At the Village Enterprise Center in Chester, home base for the Southern Hilltowns Adult Education Center (SHAEC), SHAEC Program Director Michele Kenney was excited.
“We just learned that the Community Development Block Grant was fully funded,” Kenney said, meaning that the GED high school equivalency courses, basic adult education and computer literacy classes for residents of Russell, Huntington, Middlefield and Chester will continue for another year, thanks to the grant of $87,322 obtained by Erica Johnson of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC).
“The Center benefits from many local residents who provide training on a wide variety of topics, including HiSet preparation. “A long history of high-quality and well managed programs has ensured the continued success of the Southern Hilltowns Adult Education Center as well as the other long-running social service programs supported through Community Development Block Grants,” Johnson said.
These classes are the foundation of the adult education center, but by no means the extent of its offerings. On its 20th anniversary, the center, which was formed as an outreach of the UMASS Partnership for Worker Education (formerly the Labor Management Workplace Program), now offers classes to support small business, sustainability, health and wellness, among many other areas of interest to hilltown residents.
