In 1999, I came to the Adult Learner Program (ALP) as a novice teacher/AmeriCorps volunteer. I was so impressed by this unique place. The ALP resides in a multi-service center/shelter for single mothers and their children located in Dorchester, Massachusetts. It is just one program that exists at this multi-service center. The center also maintains a food pantry, family day care business training, a transition-to-work program, housing advocacy, daycare, and neighborhood development program. The ALP serves women of the shelter, as well as those in the surrounding neighborhoods, many of which are in danger of becoming homeless, are currently homeless, or had experienced homelessness in the past. We offer three educational levels: Adult Basic Education (grade levels 0-4), Pre-GED (General Educational Development) (5-8), and GED (9-12). The women are between the ages of seventeen and sixty-six. This agency, as a whole, does its best to fulfill the needs of the women and children that it serves.
As a new teacher, I struggled to understand my students’ lives. I noticed attendance was an ongoing challenge for the women. I realized that there were so many obstacles they had to endure while trying to learn. The women often had sick children who could not attend day care so they had to stay at home because no family members could look after their children. Paying for a babysitter rarely existed in the women’s budgets. Other women constantly battled their own health issues, which prevent them from regularly attending classes. Some were forced by welfare to work while attending school. The limits on welfare also put constraints on the length of time that the women were allowed to attend school. Other barriers such as homelessness, transportation, and abuse would interfere with their attendance. Family members held many demands for the women and they held high expectations for themselves. However, what I learned then and can assert now is that the women who come to the ALP are a determined group. They are strong-minded and willing to return to school as adults to finish their high school education. They have chosen to attend this demanding full-time program and they want to succeed.