$17M supports expansion of Maryland adult education programs

MARYLAND – Governor Wes Moore recently announcing more than $17 million supporting adult education programming statewide.

Wor-Wic Community College will receive over $328,000, fulfilling a growing need for those services locally. “At the close of Fiscal Year 23, we served over 673 learners both with the Maryland High School Diploma option as well as English- Language learner option,” Jones-Ward said.

The funding comes from both U.S. Department of Education and Maryland Department of Labor, helping providers expand primary and secondary education, family literacy, and more for adult learners.

Denean Jones-Ward told 47ABC the funding will help continue growing Wor-Wic’s math and reading based course offerings, two areas she said are essential. “Math tends to be the leading subject area where a lot of our learners tend to struggle and we want to make sure we were focusing on that specific content as well as reading,” she said.

English will also be areas of focus, as Jones-Ward said in Fiscal Year 2023 73% of their students were English-language learners. “Especially with the Ukrainians who were migrating over to our country as well as the Haitian Creole speaking population. We do have a large Haitian population here in Wicomico County,” she said.

With those new skills in the tool belt, the hope is to have those students go out and find gainful employment and help grow their local economies. “It’s imperative to make sure that we are making that transition from getting that credential to pursuing a career pathway of their choice,” Jones-Ward said.

Wor-Wic was just one of the adult programs receiving funding on the shore, others include Worcester and Somerset County Public Schools and Somerset Correctional Educational Institution.