Literacy Programs

Strong literacy skills are essential for success in today’s job market. Questar III’s Adult & Continuing Education department has a proud history of serving adults and delivering intensive, high quality literacy programs and services. These include:

With locations in three counties (Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer) it is possible, convenient and affordable to achieve the education needed to function and succeed in today’s world. 

  • The first step to enroll is to call one of our adult education offices listed below and schedule an assessment appointment.  Once your competencies and skill levels are determined, an experienced and qualified staff person will assist you in finding the program that best suits your skills and needs.
  • All adult literacy programs have a $60.00 money order registration fee that is good for one year of instruction and must be paid at the time of the assessment.
  • Programs meet in various sites including: Columbia-Greene Educational Center, Rensselaer Educational Center, Greenville High School, Hudson High School, Hudson Library, Rensselaer City Hall, Catskill Community Center, Columbia Greene Community College and Greene Accelerator in Coxsackie.

Initial assessment is done in our program offices.

Rensselaer County

Rensselaer Educational Center, 35 Colleen Road, Troy, NY 12180 (518) 273-2264
Rensselaer City Hall, 62 Washington Street, Rensselaer, NY 12144 (518) 434-2410

ColumbiaCounty 

Columbia-Greene Educational Center, 131 Union Turnpike, Hudson, NY 12534 (518) 828-0675

Greene County

Catskill Public Library, 1 Franklin Street, Catskill, NY 12414 (518) 943-9434

If you wish to know about eligibility, schedules and program sites, or would like additional information, you may call any of the numbers above or email AdultEd@questar.org. 

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

General Education Development Preparation Program (GED)
This program is designed to prepare students to take the GED exam.  In order to be eligible for this program, students must be 21 years of age or older and have reading and math scores that are 9th grade level and above.  Included are the five subject areas covered by the exam, as well as other essential academic competencies found in the NYS Standards such as Communication, Goal Setting, and Decision-Making. Classes are offered days and evenings.

Pre-GED Preparation classes
This class is for students with reading levels between the 5th and 9th grade.  It covers the five-subject areas of the GED exam with emphasis on vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.

Adult Basic Education
This program is designed to encourage lower academic functioning and emergent readers with a mixture of decoding skills, phonics, vocabulary, and basic reading comprehension skills.  This class is for students with K-4.9 reading grade equivalents.

English for Speakers of Other Languages
This program teaches speaking, listening, reading and writing. This program is appropriate for students for whom English is not their first language, and are 21 years of age or older. You do not have to be an American citizen.  Day and evening classes are available. 

Approved Alternative High School Equivalency Preparation Program (AHSEP)
This program helps to prepare students 16-20 years of age who are academically qualified to improve their basic skills and prepare for and pass the General Educational Development Tests (GED). The program is intended to provide a customized learning environment for students to enhance their achievement and fulfill their goals and ambitions.  This learning environment establishes alternative educational structures that draw upon the student's particular skills, abilities and learning styles.

Useful Adult Education Links 
Columbia Greene NY Workforce Employment Career Center
GED Testing Office