Work to begin soon on new Wabash adult education hub
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A Wabash County nonprofit is gearing up to begin work on a facility designed to assist adults with furthering their education and preparing for higher paying jobs.
The Learn More Center is investing more than $800,000 to renovate the former Miller Furniture Store in Wabash into its new Adult Learning Center that will serve as a one-stop shop for high school equivalencies, postsecondary courses, certifications, and workforce training.
Executive Director Cynthia Johnson says the new facility will allow the organization to bring some of its partners—including Ivy Tech Community College and Kendallville-based Freedom Academy—under one roof to provide a comprehensive plan for adult learners.
“What we would love is [for] anybody to be able to walk in, and if they need that high school equivalency, there we are and then be able to walk them right to our partners,” Johnson said. “And either very close to the same time that they graduate, or shortly after that, they would have access to whatever that post secondary route is.”
The Learn More Center primarily operates out of North Manchester and brings its services to Wabash for only six hours per week, which Johnson said isn’t enough to meet demand.
She said the new location at 1100 Cass Street will help remove the barrier for transportation for many adults because of its prime location.
“You get to know The Learn More Center, you get to know Freedom Academy or WorkOne, and we get to walk you right over to the next person is going to help you,” she said. “And you don’t have this downtime of struggling to get to another place.”
The nonprofit said those who come to the new facility will have opportunities to pursue basic literacy and English Language courses, complete high school equivalency instruction, prepare for college, and pursue vocational training and industry standard certifications in a variety of areas.
In addition to Ivy Tech and Freedom Academy, the organization is teaming up with educational providers and partners such as Indiana University Kokomo, Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Besiege LLC and Manchester University.
Johnson said the demand for space from the partners has been fairly high as their currently just isn’t enough space for some of their programs.
“For industrial maintenance technician certification, that’s a very high demand, but we’ve only been able to offer maybe once or twice a year, depending on who could fit that program in,” she said. “So the idea of being able to maybe do for a year or more is just going to be huge for our employers and ourselves.”
The majority of funding for the project has come from a variety of courses, including $500,000 from donors to the Community Foundation of Wabash County, as well as American Rescue Plan Act dollars from Wabash County and the city of Wabash, and additional support from the Pauline Barker Educational Trust.
The Learn More Center is aiming to open the new Adult Learning Center in the spring of 2025, and Johnson said the goal is to hit the ground running.
“One of my short-term goals is to get a cohort going so more people get to go through that high school equivalency program or literacy program, whatever they need at the beginning level, and that they can also then go on to that postsecondary [pathway].”
The Learn More Center was founded in 2002 and graduates 40-50 students with a high school equivalency each year. In its first year at the new location, the nonprofit and its partners aim to serve 150 students overall and at least 50 students in industry-recognized training programs.