Aspire Program Through MCCTC Offers Free Education

CANFIELD, Ohio – Adults in Mahoning and Columbiana counties can gain free workforce and education training through Mahoning County Career & Technical Center. 

The center has been awarded a state Aspire Adult Workforce Education Readiness Grant to provide free services to adults. MCCTC has been a site for the Aspire program for several years, but it’s now a fiscal agent for the grant.

“Aspire is a really great state initiative that helps the community,” said Mary Mihalopoulos, director of the adult career center/supervisor at MCCTC. “We’ve always felt strong about having an onsite location. It also helps our students even before they become our students.”

Students can get reinforcement to brush up on academic skills. It’s important to offer Aspire because of the difference it can make in people’s lives, Mihalopoulos said. Earning a GED or high school equivalency can be life-changing.

“Aspire offers opportunities for barriers for literacy, English speaking – we can customize classes to help individuals in the community,” she said. “It’s a part of just being a holistic approach to what we want to do here.”

Many residents of the region don’t have a high school diploma or equivalency, explained Maxie Wirtz, financial aid and student services coordinator.

“We know how important that is for employment,” she said. “That bolsters the workforce here.”

It’s important to ensure people in the area earn the education so they can secure gainful employment and help the local economy.

“The other thing is there’s a repopulation push in our community,” Wirtz said. “So we’re going to see an influx of people coming in from other countries who, English might not be their primary language. We can definitely be a support for those individuals.”

And for employers who want to hire those individuals, the facility can provide English for Speakers of Other Languages training too.

The number of people in the area who require those English language services is projected to increase, Wirtz said.

Eastern Gateway Community College, which is closing this fall, formerly was the fiscal agent for the state grant.

The end of Eastern Gateway as the fiscal agent also led to the development of Eastern Ohio Aspire through the Jefferson County Educational Service Center. That program is funded for six counties in Eastern Ohio: Jefferson, Belmont, Harrison, Carroll, Columbiana and Mahoning.

MCCTC’s program is in addition to that.

“The idea was we didn’t want to see Aspire go away because we know how important it is throughout Mahoning and Columbiana counties,” Mihalopoulos said. 

Aspire offers sites throughout both counties to serve residents. Classes are available during day and evening hours as well. Locations include MCCTC, Compass Family and Community Services in Youngstown, the Excellence Training Center at Youngstown State University, Salem First Community Church and Organización Cívica y Cultural Hispana Americana Inc. Classes are also available online.

“The goal is to be able to meet people where they are,” Wirtz said. “That’s what we would like to do.”

Aspire classes are for anybody, including those who want to improve their math or English literacy skills.

“This could be a student at YSU that needs help,” Wirtz said. “Maybe they’re struggling a little bit in math and they need remediation.”

Or it could be for someone trying to enter postsecondary education who needs to pass a pre-entrance exam. Someone who didn’t get their high school diploma who wants a diploma or high school equivalency would benefit from Aspire classes too.

“This could be for employers who are seeing a need within their staffing,” Wirtz said.

They can work directly with an employer to put a class in place to help. 

Aspire also works with other adult programs available through MCCTC, including WorkKeys, that allows people to earn work credentials as well as their high school diplomas.

“That’s where Aspire comes into play,” Wirtz explained. “Aspire can offer WorkKeys prep classes and help students prepare to take that exam so they pass it, and then they can enter into that adult diploma program.”

That achievement then allows a person to move into the postsecondary program they choose.

“They really do all work hand in hand,” Wirtz said. “We’re really fortunate to have the opportunity to work with all those students.”

Both Wirtz and Mihalopoulos acknowledge it can be a big step for some people to admit they need help and to return to school or seek a high school equivalency.

“More than the academic piece of it, it’s the staff supporting those individuals and saying, ‘You got this,’” Wirtz said.

And the classes become like families, providing another support system, Mihalopoulos added. Teachers and the program director get to know students.

“Truly, they bend over backwards for their students to make sure they feel comfortable and welcomed here,” Wirtz said. 

Mihalopoulos said support can extend to connecting students to other services available in the community such as child care, transportation or other barriers to their education.

Most onsite locations launched earlier this month, but the officials say there are plans to continue to grow and add more courses throughout the year.

The length of the programs vary. Some have a definitive start and end date, while others allow drop-ins for instruction.

Services include:

• Basic math, reading and writing instruction.
• High School Equivalency preparation.
• Preparations for college or technical school.
• Test preparation.
• English language acquisition.
• Tailor-made bridge programs.
• Corrections education.
• Professional development courses for local employers.
• Workforce literacy and career exploration.

To measure success, students take a pre- and post-assessment so program directors can see skill gain. Other measures include a student earning high school equivalency or entering postsecondary education or gainful employment.

But there are more gauges of success for Wirtz and Mihalopoulos.

Mihalopoulos said Aspire is another program at MCCTC that helps educate, provide opportunities and reduce barriers for workers. It’s about literacy in the community, workforce training and a holistic approach to help more people, she said.

Wirtz wants people to feel comfortable, have a good experience and feel like they got something from the program.

“So beyond those numbers, we just want people to feel like they belong and that they’re capable of achieving their goals,” she said.

For information, email [email protected] or call 330 729 4010.

Pictured at top: Mary Mihalopoulos and Maxie Wirtz, adult center director/supervisor and financial aid and student services coordinator, respectively, at Mahoning County Career &Technical Center, display an Ohio Aspire poster.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.