9358-R3_LGP_MechanicFalls_2024AnnualReport

RSU 16 Adult Education Director

January 2026 Dear Residents,

Our Adult Education program celebrated the accomplishments of 14 new graduates at our annual cap-and-gown graduation ceremony held on Friday, June 6. Friends and family members gathered in the Elm Street School Gymnasium to recognize the achievements of these students as they proudly received their diplomas. Prior to the diploma presentation, each graduate had the opportunity to personally thank the family and friends who supported them throughout their educational journey by presenting them with a red rose, making the ceremony especially memorable and heartfelt. During the current 2025-2026 school year, which began with a five-week summer session, the Adult Education program is serving more than 60 students through High School Diploma completion and HiSET preparation programming. In addition to academic instruction, each student receives Career Advising support tailored to their individual goals, whether they are seeking employment or planning to continue their education through trade school or college. To date, the program has celebrated five graduates this year. Our next cap-and-gown graduation ceremony is scheduled for Friday, June 5, at 6:00 PM in the Elm Street School Gymnasium. Our program also serves our multilingual community to provide English language acquisition. This is designed to help our community achieve competency in reading, writing, speaking and comprehension of the English language. These students also receive Career Advising support to further their education. A few of our students are co-enrolled in programs at the community college. Our program recently won a COABE/NCCERC onstruction grant. We were one of 25 recipients in the nation to receive this grant. With this grant, we were able to implement a construction program that started early December. Our students will earn their OSHA 10, First Aid and NCCER Construction Core certifications. Graduation will be mid-April 2026. In addition to our academic and workforce programming, our program is reaching over 250 community members through a variety of enrichment courses. These courses include fitness, arts and crafts, cooking, outdoor safety education, first aid, and other lifelong learning opportunities that support community engagement and wellness. Please watch for our classes in future course catalogs which are mailed to residents twice a year - or visit our website at http://mechanicfalls.maineadulted.org for updates. You can also stay connected with events and programming by finding us on Facebook. If we can be of assistance in any way, please email me at spride@rsu16.org or call 345-3217. We are grateful for our tri-town community and appreciate your ideas, support and involvement! Respectfully submitted,

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Shelli Pride Director