William Normandin, left, demonstrates his math skills to Diane Dooley, Questar III adult education teacher, during his adult literacy class at the Rensselaer Educational Center in Troy.
Questar III student Maureen Connor reads aloud a story about cats.
Recently, two of Questar III’s adult education students performed in the play “A Mid-Autumn Night’s Dream with Apologies to Shakespeare” at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts in West Sand Lake.
William Normandin and Stephen Roberts’ ability to read and memorize their lines can partially be contributed to the adult literacy program at the Rensselaer Educational Center in Troy. Here they voluntarily attend class every Friday to improve their reading and math skills.
“These students are interested in improving their reading and math skills,” said Diane Dooley, Questar III adult education teacher. “They enjoy doing it because it’s something for their own self-worth.”
The class involves individual and group activities as well as civics and history lessons. For example, during the November 2 class, students read a story about Election Day. Later this month, they’ll read a story about the pilgrims as it relates to Thanksgiving.
The play, which is part of the ARC of Rensselaer County’s Community Inclusion Program, not only helped these students put their reading skills to use, but it taught them the importance of getting involved in the community.
Normandin, who made his acting debut as a “fairy guard,” said they practiced the play several times during the month prior to opening night, allowing him to confidently stand in front of an audience.
This comes as no surprise to Dooley. “These are probably the most motivated students adult education has. They have goals in mind and they know what they want.”
In addition to literacy programs, Questar III also offers adult education courses for a variety of skill levels in business and industry, career and technical training, community education and health occupation programs. For more information, visit the Adult and Continuing Education section of Questar.org or call 518-273-2264.
