Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board

Fred has been the Director of the Lowell Adult Education Center for 33 years. He attended Suffolk University where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing and Management. After running programs for the City of Lowell for a few years, Fred decided his real passion was teaching. He went to Assumption College where he received his teaching credentials and eventually his Master’s Degree in School Administration and Supervision from U Mass Lowell. He began his career working with Dr. Patrick Mogan on the Model Cities project, where he was the Director of the Lowell Alternative School. He later taught at the Bartlett School in Lowell and in 1977 he was hired by Dr. Mogan and the Lowell School Committee to develop a full time adult education program by the Lowell Public School Department. Thus, the Lowell Adult Education Center was established.

Fred has been a member of the WIB since its establishment. Originally he represented Lowell Public Schools and now as a representative of Adult Education. Fred serves on several boards throughout the state. He is a founding member of the MA Adult Basic Education Director’s Council. He is a founding member of the MA Coalition of Adult Education. He also sits on the local Department of Transitional Assistance’s Board, Department of Children and Family Service’s Board and the City Manager’s Domestic Violence Task Force, as well as several other subcommittees of the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education.

About Organization

Lowell Adult Education Center (LAEC) is the largest adult basic education center in New England educating 2300 adults yearly. The Center was established in 1977 as a full time center for adult basic education and is now open 54 hours a week. The average class size is 20-25 students. The vast majority of students live in Lowell and approximately 10-15% live in the seven surrounding towns. In the 2010 fiscal year, 492 students receive their GEDs and 765 foreign-speaking students earned ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificates.

The goal of Lowell Adult Education is to serve the educational needs of adult learners in the Greater Lowell area and to help them on their road to self sufficiency. The LAEC targets and addresses the needs of the following populations:

Limited English proficient adults
Working poor Young urban adults, 16-24 years of age
TANF recipients
Homeless adults
Mothers with young children
Potentially dislocated and unemployed workers
Public Housing tenants
Ex-offenders

Lowell Adult Education provides services to students of all ages serving a population aged 16 and older. The oldest GED grad in 2010 was 82 years old! The average age of students receiving ESOL certification is 35, while the average age of GED students is 29. “We do have a terrific staff but our largest contributor to our success is our students. Most of them are working one or two jobs and they still remain dedicated to improving their education by attending classes” says Fred.

Students in the LAEC are from more than 60 countries all over the world. The largest number of students come from the following countries; Cambodia, Brazil, Puerto Rico (USA) Dominican Republic, Columbia, Vietnam and Laos. “I wish people could see the immigrant population that we educate. They are so dedicated to improving the lives of their families - they are awesome” says Fred.

Fred attributes much of the success of the LAEC to community partnerships which include over 40 organizations in Lowell that includes Middlesex Community College, Community Teamwork, Inc., UTEC, Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, Lowell Community Health Center, Lowell Family Literacy Center and the Lowell Transitional Living Center. “The local support we get from the Lowell School Administration, the members of the Lowell School Committee and our community partnerships are essential to our success in this urban school system”. The partnerships the LAEC has formed in the community sets Lowell apart from other models in the state. “Our model is the only model in the state that works this closely with the community; it allows us to offer the best quality of service possible to our students at the lowest possible costs” says Fred.

Upcoming or Ongoing Projects

The LAEC teams with Lowell Community Health Center to provide important education on health-related information to students in the program. For more information on what services the Lowell Adult Education Center offers, please visit their website at http://lowelladulteducation.com/.