Latest / Austin Signal / Caldwell library expands adult education classes

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Caldwell library expands adult education classes · Austin Signal

0:10
A library in Caldwell has become
0:12
a beacon of hope for adults looking
0:14
to get their GED or further
0:16
their education.
0:17
And volunteers are helping make that
0:19
possible.
0:20
More on that story from the Texas
0:21
Standard's Sarah Asch.
0:23
And a look back at major
0:25
developments in the business world
0:26
this year and how they're shaping
0:28
the Austin area.
0:30
The Austin Signal is a production of
0:32
KUT News, hosted by Syeda
0:34
Carrillo.
0:35
A Minnesota-based program is
0:37
creating music inspired by the
0:39
stories of children in need.
0:41
They worked with a 9-year-old Austin
0:43
boy with a fatal genetic disorder
0:45
to write a piece that was performed
0:46
by the Austin Children's Choir.
0:49
That and much more coming up today
0:51
on Austin Signal.
1:09
Hey there, Austin!
1:10
It's Tuesday, December 23rd,
1:12
Christmas Eve Eve, as you might call
1:14
it. I'm Syeda Carrillo.
1:16
This is Austin Signal.
1:18
Adult education programs were
1:20
in limbo over the summer,
1:22
uncertain about the status of
1:24
federal funding.
1:25
The government did eventually
1:26
distribute the money, but many
1:28
program coordinators are worried
1:30
they won't be supported next year.
1:32
If federal funding for adult
1:33
education does go away or
1:35
get reduced.
1:36
The Texas Standard's Sarah Asch
1:38
reports a small library in
1:40
the Bryan College station area could
1:43
be a blueprint for how to start a
1:44
program with little money and
1:46
a lot of volunteer power.
1:50
Walking
1:53
into the Harry P.
1:54
Woodson Memorial Library in Caldwell
1:55
after hours on a weekday, it
1:57
certainly does not sound like the
1:59
building is closed.
2:02
Small groups of students meeting
2:03
clusters with their instructors.
2:05
Sarah Hillhouse will be the first to
2:07
tell you, it gets loud sometimes.
2:10
Her out.
2:11
Hill House is in the evening GED
2:12
class. She was homeschooled in the
2:14
90s and never received a
2:16
state-recognized diploma.
2:17
I wanted to do something that was
2:18
just for me, and
2:20
so I decided I was going to go back
2:22
to school and I was gonna get my
2:23
GED.
2:24
The library offers an array of adult
2:26
ed classes, not only GED prep,
2:28
but also English language
2:29
instruction and computer courses.
2:31
Many of the classes are run by
2:32
volunteer teachers with donated
2:34
materials.
2:35
It's a model library director Heidi
2:37
Frazier says may become more
2:38
appealing as communities try to
2:40
figure out how to keep adult ed
2:41
services available in a time of
2:43
increasing uncertainty over federal
2:45
funding.
2:46
Frazier launched the program in 2021
2:47
when she decided Burleson County
2:49
needed a place where adults could
2:51
gain literacy skills.
2:52
We're in a library, why isn't there
2:54
a literacy program?
2:55
And one day, honestly, like days
2:57
after that, this man came in
2:59
with his wife and said, is there
3:00
somebody who can teach my wife to
3:02
read? And I said, well, of course,
3:04
we have a literacy program, I'll
3:05
teach her myself.
3:07
The program originally paired
3:08
students with volunteer reading
3:09
tutors, but Frazier quickly wanted
3:11
to expand.
3:12
She looked for places in town that
3:13
held GED and ESL classes in
3:15
the hopes of forming a coalition.
3:17
It was during COVID.
3:18
And I found out that the GED program
3:20
that had been here was gone.
3:22
And the ESL program that has been
3:23
here was gone."
3:25
Caldwell is a town of about 4,000
3:27
residents, 30 minutes west of
3:28
College Station.
3:30
Frazier knew there was a need, so
3:31
she approached the Brazos Valley
3:32
Council of Governments.
3:33
It turns out they were looking for a
3:35
new location to hold adult education
3:37
classes.
3:38
And literally within two weeks we
3:39
went with nothing to almost
3:41
everything.
3:42
The council-funded classes are
3:44
offered through the Region 6
3:45
Education Service Center, one of 20
3:47
such service centers established by
3:48
the state of Texas to improve
3:50
educational outcomes.
3:51
But Frazier says she didn't want to
3:53
just lend out the library space and
3:54
walk away.
3:55
We really want to be here for the
3:56
students. So we started
3:58
working together,
4:00
like really together.
4:02
The library also launched their own
4:03
classes on top of Region 6's
4:05
offerings.
4:06
In my mind, it's a perfect marriage.
4:08
So when Region 6 decided this fall
4:09
that they could only offer one GED
4:11
course and no ESL classes because
4:13
of that uncertainty over federal
4:14
funding, library volunteers
4:16
were able to take on the rest of the
4:18
classes, and students kept learning
4:19
uninterrupted.
4:20
We had built up so much volunteer
4:22
support, now we were able to
4:24
stay afloat without them.
4:26
Among these volunteers are Don and
4:27
Carol Albrecht, who teach the
4:29
pre-GED class.
4:30
Both are retired professors at
4:32
nearby Texas A&M.
4:33
Neighborhood, okay.
4:34
Motherhood.
4:35
Motherhood, parenthood.
4:37
Childhood, childhood, all of those
4:38
are a state of being.
4:40
Carol Albrecht said, it's refreshing
4:42
to work with students who are
4:43
motivated and engaged, which was not
4:45
always the case when she taught
4:46
college level statistics.
4:47
This is something that they want to
4:49
do. What they lack is confidence.
4:51
We've found that over and over
4:53
again.
4:54
So we tell them all the time,
4:56
you can do this, and it does make a
4:57
difference if people believe that
4:59
they can accomplish things.
5:00
She said working with adult
5:01
education students reminds her of
5:03
the old adage, give someone a fish
5:05
and they eat for a day.
5:06
Teach someone to fish and eat for
5:07
lifetime.
5:08
This is teaching them to fish,
5:10
teaching them how to learn, teach
5:12
them how progress and
5:14
to reach their goals in
5:16
life.
5:17
Volunteer power helps minimize the
5:19
cost of adult education programming
5:20
at the Harry P.
5:21
Woodson Memorial Library.
5:22
But one expense the library has
5:24
taken on is the hiring of a
5:25
full-time adult basic education
5:27
coordinator.
5:28
Paris Chandler started in this role
5:30
in April. He is also employed
5:31
part-time by Region 6 to teach their
5:33
remaining GED class.
5:34
Even if I wasn't the GED
5:36
teacher, I would still be the adult
5:38
basic education coordinator working
5:39
with all of the students keeping up
5:41
on their progress, helping them
5:43
decide which way that they're going
5:44
with their learning or
5:47
where they want to go after their
5:48
learning.
5:49
So, on this can,
5:51
these are the two parts that have
5:52
the identical thing, similar to a
5:54
cereal box.
5:55
The top flap and the bottom flap
5:57
match, just like the two sides.
5:59
This library is not the only one
6:01
expanding its adult education
6:02
programming.
6:03
The American Library Association
6:05
launched a program this year to help
6:06
eight libraries across the country
6:08
meet community literacy needs.
6:10
Aubrey Huff is the Association's
6:11
Assistant Director of Literacy and
6:13
Continuing Education.
6:14
A lot of people understand libraries
6:16
as silly places that house books,
6:18
but really they provide so
6:20
much diversity of services.
6:22
They're really these community
6:23
centers that provide
6:25
opportunities to everyone
6:27
regardless of your background.
6:29
Huff says adult literacy is one of
6:30
the most important services that
6:32
libraries can offer to help people
6:33
move up in the world.
6:34
Libraries are one of the few places
6:36
left that are universally
6:38
accessible.
6:39
They are stigma free.
6:41
So when libraries take on literacy,
6:43
they're not just offering classes.
6:46
They're really there to strengthen
6:48
communities and improve that
6:49
workforce readiness.
6:50
Caldwell Library Director Heidi
6:52
Frazier says their program's growth
6:53
has helped strengthen the library's
6:55
position in town.
6:56
I think it's the future success
6:58
for libraries is to bring literacy
6:59
into the building.
7:00
Sarah Hillhouse is still preparing
7:02
to take the first of four GED exams.
7:04
Until she completes her degree, she
7:06
will be in class twice a week.
7:08
This is huge for me and it's going
7:09
to be big for other people too.
7:11
We've had a lot of people graduate
7:12
from this class.
7:13
We're doing something right here,
7:15
you know, in this little town.
7:17
A small plaque in the library's
7:18
computer lab lists the names of all
7:20
of those graduated students.
7:21
Someday soon, Hill House hopes her
7:23
name will be on it.
7:24
In Caldwell, I'm Sarah Asch for the
7:26
Texas Standard.
7:34
This past year for business here in
7:36
Central Texas has been one for the
7:37
books.
7:38
To break that down for the Austin
7:40
Signal, host Miles Bloxson
7:42
sat down with Justin Sayers,
7:44
a senior staff writer at the Austin
7:45
Business Journal.
7:47
I know summing up the past year is
7:49
a big task and probably a
7:51
lot to take in, but how do you
7:53
make sense of the year we just had
7:55
in Central Texas business?
7:56
Yeah. So I'll start with a little
7:58
bit of recency bias.
7:59
You know, I've been here about five
8:01
years. When I got here, it was the
8:02
height of the pandemic and
8:04
announcements like Tesla and Samsung
8:06
that, you know, we're making
8:08
worldwide headlines.
8:09
And it's been a little slower since
8:11
then. But since October,
8:13
it's starting to feel like 2021
8:14
again.
8:15
You know, We're having these big
8:17
announcements of manufacturers
8:19
setting up in Williamson County
8:21
and other big companies coming here.
8:23
And, you know we're really seeing no
8:24
signs of slowing down.
8:26
Wow. So more like 2021.
8:28
What do you mean by that?
8:30
Yeah, so we've had, you know,
8:32
companies like, uh, Taiwanese
8:33
companies, Compal Electronics and
8:35
Pegatron set up in Georgetown and
8:37
Taylor. Uh, a big semiconductor
8:40
supplier has an office in
8:41
Hutto and, you know, these are
8:43
creating hundreds of jobs on each
8:45
project.
8:46
And again, you, feeling like the
8:48
height of one Tesla and Samsung
8:49
moved here and, and starting to see
8:51
that fallout impact.
8:53
That's incredible.
8:54
What were some of the big trends
8:55
that you saw this year in business?
8:57
Yeah, I think the big thing in
8:59
our world is the data center boom.
9:02
As someone who covers primarily the
9:04
suburbs, I've been tracking
9:06
data center projects, and we've
9:09
found nearly 25 projects
9:11
over the last few years,
9:13
particularly in the suburbs.
9:14
Particularly north of Austin.
9:17
There's been a lot of focus on that,
9:18
but cities love them because they
9:20
help the tax rolls, and
9:22
residents don't really love them,
9:23
because of concerns about water and
9:25
power.
9:26
For those who don't know, what does
9:27
data center boom mean?
9:29
So yeah, data center, you know, it's
9:31
AI, the cloud, but
9:33
it's really more your phone and
9:35
storing photos and stuff like
9:37
that rather than the artificial
9:38
intelligence boom.
9:40
But companies need more space
9:42
to have operations
9:44
to do that.
9:46
And Austin is one of the targets.
9:48
It's one of the fastest growing data
9:49
center cities and regions.
9:51
And the reason for that is just a
9:53
lot of available land,
9:55
cities that in general, you tend to
9:57
be okay with these projects coming.
9:59
And then also access to power,
10:01
especially on the outskirts of
10:02
Austin, is a big selling point.
10:05
So, you know, again, those 25
10:06
projects, they're everywhere from
10:08
Milam County to Georgetown
10:10
to Round Rock, all the way down to
10:11
San Marcos, Hayes County, Bastrop
10:13
County. It's really anywhere they
10:15
can find that space and that
10:16
support.
10:17
And you mentioned a lot of available
10:18
land. I'm seeing a lot of buildings
10:20
that are still empty, you know, so
10:22
maybe buildings as well, right?
10:24
Yeah, so that's a great point.
10:25
Another big trend that we've seen
10:27
this year is industrial
10:29
space.
10:30
Our vacancy during the third quarter
10:32
of this year was the highest it's
10:33
been ever in our market's history.
10:35
But again, since October 1st and
10:37
that fourth quarter started,
10:39
we're starting to see these big
10:40
projects eat up that space.
10:42
Things are not as optimistic
10:45
on the office end.
10:46
Austin still has some of the highest
10:48
vacancies in terms of office space.
10:51
There is still demand there, you
10:52
know, we hear of companies that are
10:53
looking around.
10:54
We wrote about Nvidia, which is the
10:56
largest company in the world right
10:57
now, taking large
11:00
office space in both Cedar Park and
11:02
near the domain.
11:03
So there are still, you, know,
11:04
companies that are looking to locate
11:06
here. It's just when Austin
11:08
boomed, developers came in, built
11:09
a bunch of office space, industrial
11:11
space, and it's taken a while to
11:13
fill that.
11:14
And were there any stories that
11:15
really stood out to you this year?
11:17
That's a great question.
11:19
I think one really interesting
11:21
thing again, as someone who covers
11:22
the suburbs, is the
11:24
population boom happened so fast.
11:26
Right.
11:27
That now we're starting to
11:28
get a little more maturity in that
11:30
area where you need the restaurants,
11:32
you need to retail, you need other
11:34
stuff where people don't really want
11:35
to drive to Austin all the time.
11:37
So that's really
11:39
starting to take shape and
11:42
cities are really, especially ones
11:44
on the outskirts are really trying
11:45
to focus on their downtown areas and
11:47
preservation versus knocking down
11:49
things and building hires.
11:51
So... If you go, you know,
11:54
road trip to Georgetown or Lockhart
11:56
or even Hutto, you know, they're
11:57
starting to have these really
11:58
developing out downtowns and,
12:00
you know, their fun, they are full
12:01
of local businesses and it's
12:03
really interesting to see.
12:05
Which is crazy for me because I am
12:07
a native Austinite, so all
12:09
the small towns outside of Austin
12:11
would always come into Austin to do
12:13
a lot of their shopping.
12:14
For sure yeah and another thing on
12:15
that end like austin has one of
12:17
the tightest retail markets in the
12:19
country 97 occupancy
12:21
rates so you know there's a need for
12:23
retail and you know people are
12:25
looking to spend their money you
12:27
know shops restaurants and looking
12:28
for things to do all the time.
12:30
It's a dangerous game for me over
12:32
here, but yes, that's great for us.
12:34
And before I let you go looking
12:35
ahead, what should people be keeping
12:37
an eye out for ahead
12:39
in 2026?
12:40
Again, maybe a little bit of recency
12:42
bias, but these
12:44
companies that are looking around,
12:45
again, we just had a story published
12:47
about Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin,
12:50
which is a space company, is
12:51
actually looking around the area for
12:53
space for a $1 billion project
12:55
that would create 2,200 jobs.
12:58
So there's these big companies
13:00
and big names, Larry Ellison's
13:02
agriculture technology company
13:04
just set up in Lockhart, and Elon
13:06
Musk and all his companies.
13:08
So. You have billionaires that are
13:09
really circling in on Austin right
13:11
now and, you know, trying to find
13:12
space for their companies because
13:14
they want to be here.
13:16
Three billionaires, all in the top
13:17
five, I believe, on the Forbes list,
13:19
which is crazy.
13:20
Yes, and that's just the start of
13:21
it.
13:22
It's gonna get crazier.
13:23
We've been speaking with Justin
13:25
Sayers senior staff writer at the
13:26
Austin Business Journal, Justin
13:28
Thank you so much for spending time
13:30
with us here at Austin signal
13:31
Yeah, thank you so much for having
13:32
me.
13:35
We've got more Austin Signal coming
13:37
your way.
13:38
Stay with us.
13:59
Support for KUT's Austin Signal
14:01
comes from Dr. Emmanuel Lee and
14:03
Concierge Health of Austin,
14:05
offering comprehensive primary care,
14:07
in-house diagnostics, and an
14:09
emphasis on long-term health
14:11
management.
14:12
More at conciergehealthaustin.com.
14:24
You're listening to Austin Signal.
14:27
What's up, all you kooky kiddies?
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I'm one of your friendly neighborhood
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My name is Mark Fort.
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I'm a host at KUTX, and
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you can learn about all of our
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at Kutx.org.
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Is Austin City.
16:24
Me odio tanto,
16:27
que yo misma me espanto
16:31
De mi forma de odiar
16:37
A Minnesota-based program creates
16:39
music inspired by the stories of
16:41
children in need.
16:42
They heard about a nine-year-old
16:44
Austin boy with a fatal genetic
16:46
disorder and reached out to his
16:48
family.
16:49
He and his mom wrote a piece that
16:50
was recently performed by the Austin
16:53
Children's Choir.
16:54
Michelle Dahlenburg went to the
16:56
concert.
17:01
I'm in the sanctuary at Hillcrest
17:03
Church on the north side of Austin,
17:05
watching the Austin Children's Choir
17:07
rehearse for their upcoming concert.
17:09
During time
17:11
in Texas,
17:15
our friends,
17:17
our boy, he makes
17:19
my day.
17:20
Artistic director Don Shaeffer
17:22
has led the group for the past three
17:24
years.
17:25
We've been really fortunate to
17:27
have kids from a lot of different
17:28
backgrounds, a lot of different
17:30
cultures with all varying
17:32
abilities. All of them come here to
17:34
sing.
17:35
This concert is special.
17:37
It features
17:37
the world premiere of Simon
17:39
Sings, a choral work composed
17:41
specifically for the choir by local
17:43
composer Nicolas Jimenez.
17:46
The piece was created through Sing
17:48
Me a Story, a Minnesota-based
17:50
nonprofit that works with
17:51
songwriters to turn the original
17:53
stories of kids in need into songs.
17:56
Simon Sins is based on a story
17:58
written by Simon and his mother,
18:00
Alina Gorniak, who live in Austin
18:02
with Simon's father, Jeremy Croke.
18:05
We're going on a bear
18:07
hunt.
18:08
We're gonna catch a big
18:10
one. My name's Alina.
18:11
I am Simon's mama.
18:13
Who, babe?
18:16
Simon is a beautiful
18:18
nine-year-old boy who
18:21
has an amazing
18:23
smile and exudes
18:25
such positive energy.
18:27
He's such a bright light.
18:29
But he was unfortunately born with
18:31
San Filippo Syndrome and it's a
18:33
fatal, rare, neurodegenerative
18:36
genetic condition.
18:38
Kids with this condition
18:39
unfortunately pass away as children,
18:41
so they don't make it the second
18:43
decade of life.
18:45
It's likened to
18:48
Alzheimer's, dementia,
18:50
but in children.
18:52
Autumn Rosado from the Sing Me a
18:54
Story Foundation found out about
18:55
their story from a news article and
18:57
reached out.
18:58
Because of Simon's
18:59
neurodegeneration, Gorniak didn't
19:01
know how he would be able to write a
19:03
story.
19:04
And she said, yes, but can he
19:05
make- choices."
19:07
And I said, yes, you're
19:09
right. Yes, he can absolutely
19:11
make choices.
19:12
And then it dawned on me, mama's
19:14
gonna create this like a Mad Libs
19:15
story.
19:16
She created the skeleton of the
19:17
story from Simon's perspective to
19:20
get across how a child might be
19:21
confused about the losses they're
19:23
having in their abilities due to
19:24
Sanfilippo syndrome.
19:25
Who is that?
19:27
It's one of our good friends,
19:29
and her name is Beb-Beb-Bep-Beck.
19:32
She used pictures to
19:34
give Simon options of things she
19:35
knew he loved, and he responded
19:37
verbally or by pointing.
19:40
What season is it?
19:41
Is it fall or is it spring?
19:43
And he would pick and I'd say, okay,
19:45
is it raining or is
19:50
The story is a mystery.
19:52
Simon's best friends, Betsy,
19:54
Joey, and Fox, help him
19:56
figure out who's slowly stealing his
19:58
skills, like playing basketball,
20:00
running, and singing.
20:01
It turns out that they've been
20:03
stolen by a sloth named San,
20:06
Filippo.
20:07
How did you feel when you first read
20:08
Simon's story?
20:10
I was very affected by
20:12
it.
20:14
I don't think I've ever been
20:15
affected by something in that way,
20:17
actually.
20:18
That's Nicolas Jimenez, the composer
20:20
chosen to adapt the story into a
20:22
choral piece.
20:23
I think just mainly realizing
20:25
that I was responsible in
20:27
some way for
20:29
ensuring that his story
20:31
was shown.
20:34
It definitely was a big weight, but
20:35
it also was very
20:38
expanding, like
20:40
spiritually. He was very, very
20:42
profound.
20:44
Jiménez chose a combination of
20:45
choral music and written dialog for
20:47
the piece.
20:48
I overheard you guys are looking for
20:49
who took Simon's heels.
20:51
When choir member Julia Doherty
20:53
first heard about Simon's story,
20:55
she felt sad for him and his family.
20:57
It hit home that she's nine years
20:59
old too.
21:00
When Ms. Schaeffer said we can sing
21:02
this song, I was happy because I
21:03
like singing and I also
21:05
want to make him feel happy.
21:08
It's the day of the concert.
21:10
Simon and his parents sit right in
21:12
the front row.
21:14
I used to sing songs
21:16
with my mom,
21:18
but now I can't
21:21
remember the words.
21:29
As the song ends, something
21:31
happens that no one expects.
21:34
Simon seems to know that it's time
21:36
to celebrate him for his story.
21:38
He gets up and walks to the middle
21:40
aisle where everyone is clapping for
21:42
him.
21:42
Giving everyone amazing
21:45
eye contact, looking around
21:47
the audience, and eventually
21:49
you see one
21:51
adult audience member stand up
21:54
to give an ovation,
21:56
and then another audience member
21:58
stands, and soon you have
21:59
everyone standing and applauding
22:02
for him, and he's clapping and
22:04
looking at everyone, and it is
22:05
absolutely an
22:08
amazing moment.
22:11
When people ask how to help Simon
22:14
and his family, his parents often
22:15
direct them to donate to help find a
22:17
cure for Sanfilippo syndrome.
22:19
But Gorniak told me that their
22:21
family also really needs something
22:23
else, community.
22:25
It's isolating having a child with a
22:27
serious, fatal medical condition.
22:30
And parents of these children don't
22:31
often get to watch their child be
22:32
celebrated, like Simon was at the
22:34
concert.
22:35
What did that do for your mama
22:37
heart?
22:37
Oh my gosh, oh for my
22:39
mama heart was...
22:41
I couldn't have been more proud.
22:43
And happy for Simon.
22:46
The experience convinced her that
22:47
she wants to take him to more Austin
22:49
Children's Choir performances
22:50
because he felt so accepted,
22:53
embraced, and celebrated.
22:55
And isn't that what all of us want?
22:58
For KUT News, I'm Michelle
22:59
Dahlenburg in Austin.
23:07
That's it for us today on Austin
23:08
Signal.
23:09
Rayna Sevilla is our technical
23:11
director.
23:12
Kristin Cabrera is our managing
23:14
producer.
23:14
I'm Syeda Carrillo.
23:16
Thanks for listening.