TC and TISD Adult Ed partner to celebrate Accelerate Texas Week

Texarkana College is pleased to take part in Accelerate TEXAS Week (November 10-14), a statewide celebration of an initiative that helps Adult Basic Education students accelerate through integrated basic skills and career and technical training to earn credentials with immediate real labor market value. Accelerate TEXAS programs help lower-skilled adults enter college pathways that integrate basic skills with career and technical knowledge that will lead to jobs with competitive wages. To celebrate the success of the local program, a reception was held on November 11, at 3:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Texarkana College Career Education Center.

Texarkana College, in partnership with the Texarkana ISD Adult Education Program, has offered this program in our community since 2013 when TC received a $325,000 Accelerate TEXAS grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Since that time, 68 students have been served and have chosen a career pathway in one of the following high demand fields: Certified Nursing Assistant, Welder’s Helper, Automotive Service Technician, Office Careers, Construction Technology, and Hospitality & Food Safety.

Current research shows that 19 percent of Texans over age 25 do not have a high school diploma and 44 percent of Texans over age 25 have never been to college or earned a higher education credential. Capitalizing on the importance of community colleges in helping the state achieve its Closing the Gaps goals, Accelerate TEXAS has awarded grants to 13 community colleges and 8 community college districts across Texas. Together, these grantees have already engaged over 3,000 adults in programs leading to certificates in the key industry sectors of health care, manufacturing, construction, and transportation.

For more information on the Texarkana Accelerate TEXAS program, please contact Katie Jewell, Program Coordinator, at 903-823-3085.