Sans Souci executive director Sheryl Adams, center, holds a certificate recognizing the Columbus nonprofit’s support of adult education presented at a Statehouse event Feb. 15. Pictured from the sponsoring agencies of Adult Education Day are Marilyn Pitzulo of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Indiana Association of Adult and Continuing Education President Michael Thombleson.
Columbus nonprofit Sans Souci was among Indiana employers honored recently for their support of adult and continuing education. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the Indiana Association of adult and continuing education honored Hoosier adult learners and employers at the 2023 Adult Education Day ceremony at the Indiana Statehouse on Feb. 15.
Sans Souci executive director Sheryl Adams explained the importance of adult education as part of its mission. “One of our most impactful initiatives is employee development. We work with our employees that have many barriers and one of those is not having their high school diploma or high school equivalency. If you hire on at Sans Souci, we ask that you take this class,” she said.
“McDowell (Education Center) sends a teacher to our business twice a week, and the thing of it is, we pay our employees to go to this training so they don’t have to worry about choosing to go to night school to get their education. They can do it when they are on the clock,” Adams said.
Through numerous programs offered by the Department of Workforce Development, adult education students earn credentials, receive post-secondary education, achieve sustainable employment and ultimately reach economic self-sufficiency. In Indiana, 70% of adult learners are employed after earning their high school equivalency and experience an average wage increase of $8,400 annually. In 2022, 3,795 Hoosier adult learners earned their high school equivalency.
There are more than 250 adult education class locations — in-person or online — in the state that give students opportunities to increase skills, learn English, access training, obtain industry-recognized credentials and earn a higher-paying job.
“I was making around $11 an hour in a job I had for several years but I felt I was never going anywhere in my career,” said Brandy Gilstrap, a Greene County resident. “I enrolled in a 10-week certification program with an adult education provider and graduated last April. I finally feel freedom.”
Gilstrap now works as emergency medical technician in Sullivan County.
Sans Souci was one of 16 Indiana business partners recognized for offering adult education classes to their staff. Employers were honored for one or more of the following:
- Providing employees’ wages for attending adult education classes;
- Supplying classroom space and computers or other technology to support students;
- Providing other classroom materials and supplies;
- Funding the cost to pay teachers and instructors; and
- Offering permanent employment to workers who successfully completed classes.
