Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year? Planning to exercise more or lose some weight?

Or, maybe you’re looking for a new hobby, looking to expand your horizons or perhaps even learn a new skill and improve your knowledge base. If so, David Durkee has the resources to help you make that happen.

Durkee, 53, is the executive director for Adult Education services in Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach. He’s worked in adult education since 1996 starting off as a volunteer, than as a teacher before moving on to administration.

Programs offered through adult education classes offer a myriad of options for continued learning well beyond working to receive your high-school GED diploma. From learning how to knit, improving your financial fitness or studying boating regulations, there is a class available for almost any interest.

Courses in gardening, First Aid or watercolor painting are virtually at your fingertips, and the tuition is inexpensive - - while many academic classes are offered for free. Bottom line? This is not your father’s adult-ed program.

How many students does your program serve?

“Well, I am the director for the Saco-Old Orchard Beach Adult Education Department, the Biddeford Adult Education program and the Sacopee Valley Adult-Ed program. All combined, we serve nearly 3,700 adults each year.”

Where does your funding come from?

We are part of the school districts, so part of our funding comes from local sources, but we also receive state subsidies and various federal grants, such as federal literacy grants. We also generate quite a bit of revenue from the courses we offer.

“All of our academic classes are free; as it should be. Some of our other classes are enrichment and vocational classes and whatever revenue we generate from those programs we use to support our academic programs.”

What is the difference between academic, vocational or enrichment classes?

“Well, we offer a wide array of classes. Enrichment classes might include art or dance classes, Tai Chi or maybe learning a new language or how to knit or make quilts.

“Our vocational courses are focused on trades or professional development to become a CNA and things like that, such as welding or basic plumbing.

“The academic courses are probably what many people think of when they think about adult education. We really offer a whole gamut of different services. We have literacy classes to help people improve their reading skills or math skills; and we offer a high-school diploma program.

“We no longer use the standard GED designation in Maine. Instead, we use the HISET (High School Equivalency Test). And when you talk about the GED or HISET exam, different states in the country have decided to use different exams. So, the GED and the HISET are just exams; so that a student can get their Maine high school equivalency diploma.

“The Maine Legislature has chosen HISET as the vehicle for determining whether to award an equivalency diploma to students. We also offer the regular high school diploma program, which is a 22-credit diploma like you would get at a traditional high school; and then we have the HISET option. We also provide college transition services to help folks be better prepared at the college level.”

What are the most popular programs you offer?

“I’m not sure I’d call it the most popular, but certainly our ESL (English as a Second Language) courses are in high demand over the last few years. And those learners are more commonly referred to as Multi-Lingual Learners or MLL.

 “As I’m sure you know, we’ve had a lot of new Mainers move into the area – especially in Saco – and so we’ve done a lot in Biddeford, in Saco and Old Orchard Beach to support those new families. We do a lot of MLL classes.  For example, in Biddeford we had approximately 150 MLL students; Old Orchard/Saco, we had 75. These are mostly immigrants from places like Angola, west Africa, eastern Europe and many from Ukraine . . . basically learners from all over the world.”

How would you describe the mission or the purpose of adult education?

“To me, adult education is all about second chances and new opportunities. Whether you’re someone who dropped out of school at a young age or dropped out of college, or you just arrived in this country and you don’t know what you want to do, adult education provides those second chances and new opportunities for students.

“Adult education is a very community-based organization. Not only do we provide academic support, but we are helping to really enrich the lives of all community members whether they want to learn a new hobby or do something they enjoy or if they want to train for a new career.”

“The really cool thing about adult education is that adult education means different things to so many different people. We used to do a tap-dancing class in Saco and had students come in on a regular basis and become almost a club . . . or some people choose to begin a new career path. It serves everyone’s needs.

“The communities are so supportive of our work. The school boards, the city councils and others are so helpful and help make our programs work.”

Editor’s Note: For more information about adult education programs in your area, you may visit the Maine Adult Education Association website at https://maineadulted.org/

Randy Seaver can be contacted at randy@randyseaver.com.

Local Spotlight runs every Monday, highlighting a person of interest from the community. If you know a community member who you think deserves to be in the spotlight, contact publisher Liz Gotthelf at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.