Every other Monday on Morning Edition we like to highlight a local non profit with NHPR's Give Back New Hampshire segment. And this week we're celebrating a continuing education institution here in Concord that's now in its 50th year of service.
What started as a program for folks seeking to earn their high school equivalency has blossomed into a comprehensive adult development program that seeks to elevate anyone looking for a brighter future.
Bill Mealey (Executive Director): The way I like to phrase it is that Second Start sort of fills all of the educational gaps in the greater Concord community.
My name is Bill Mealey and I am the executive director at Second Start. We offer a really wide variety of programs, everything from adults to adolescents to daycare— whatever the current needs of the community are.
One of the newest programs that we started is a new American driving school, just trying to get people familiarized and properly licensed in the state. Our adult ED and literacy programs...a lot of those folks come to us as refugees and come to us for our ESOL classes.
They want to be an educated workforce. They want to be part of the community. They want to be your neighbors.Krystin Cooley
Kara Mollano (Teacher): Sure, English is about nouns and verbs, but it's also... our English instruction is about helping students build a foundation for a new life in America.
My name is Kara Mollano. I teach the beginning level English. My class is very diverse. We are about 18 of us now, and we're from all over the world: Thailand, Taiwan, Ukraine, Congo, Sudan, Mexico, Argentina, India. So we really are a diverse group.
We really focus on high interest, relevant topics. So to prepare for the election last week, we did an entire civics unit on the history of voting in America. We read a book about that. We visited the state House and took an official tour. We looked at a ballot. We discussed if students had voted prior to moving to America, and we really studied essential information that students will need if and when they take the citizenship exam. So that's what keeps students engaged. This is the material they need to meet their goals and to have success.
Krystin Cooney (Adult Diploma Program Director): These people who come to Second Start are your future workforce. They want to be an educated workforce. They want to be part of the community. They want to be your neighbors. They want to participate in the Concord community and the best way that they know how, and by getting an education, by furthering their English, by being a volunteer in the program.
All of those things contribute to community and building those relationships.
Mealey: And our semesters pretty much follow the school calendar. So it's January when Krystin will be enrolling, you know, another whole crop of students in that adult diploma program. So just hit that website. There's a way to connect to us right there or the phone number is right there. Just give us a call and we will get you pointed in the right direction.
