Public Employee Press

Learning Lab
Studying their way

By JANE LaTOUR

In the Learning Lab, DC 37 members set their own goals and advance at their own pace. Their targets include earning the General Educational Development (high school equivalency) diploma, preparing for the CUNY College Placement test and even writing college term papers.

“The Learning Lab program gives members an opportunity to receive individualized instruction in various subjects in a supportive class setting,” explained DC 37 Education Fund Administrator Barbara Kairson. “Many members attend the Lab to reinforce their academic skills or to develop new ones.”

Supportive structure
Lab Director Rosemari Mealy designed and decorated the room. It’s colorful, warm and inviting, with plenty of plants and posters. “My philosophy is that we, as adults, have to take responsibility for our own learning. The Lab isn’t a substitute for the classroom, but it offers a supportive structure so that students can advance and take advantage of the other classes we offer,” she explained.

At the start of every 12-week cycle, teachers evaluate each student and the students sign contracts committing themselves to their study plans.

Re-evaluations after the cycle help instructors recommend the next step. “Tracking the students in the program keeps you focused on their needs, rather than on the curriculum,” explained Pamela Simpson, who has been teaching in the program since 1989.

“Many of our students didn’t get an education before this, for whatever reason. They’re in the Learning Lab because they want to be here. They’re highly motivated. They come to school after a full day’s work that for many starts at 5 a.m. They travel to DC 37 at night to study for three hours and then get up and do it all over again the next day,” she said.

Local 372 member Shakisha Codling works as a School Crossing Guard in Queens Village. After work, she sets out for DC 37, where she’s studying for the GED. “The Lab is helping me prepare. There are five parts to the test and they are especially helping me with the math,” she said. Ms. Codling learned about the Lab from a co-worker.

Roosevelt Barner has been a member of Off-Track Betting Corp. Employees Local 2021 for 27 years. “I started at the Learning Lab last September,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of progress. The instruction is very good. They give you individual attention.” He is studying math with Ms. Simpson for his GED test.

One of the very real rewards of teaching for Ms. Simpson is seeing the students’ progress. “In June, I ran into an English as a Second Language student who I remembered clearly. The language was challenging for her, but she was very dedicated and was about to graduate from The College of New Rochelle. She told me she is going back for her master’s degree. Now that’s encouraging!”

Next: A college degree
When she passes the GED examination, Ms. Codling’s dream is to continue her education. “I want to go on to college and get a degree — yes I do,” she said. Mr. Barner, who has spent his working life as a Building Custodian, wants “a job behind a desk,” he said. “I also want to make more money,” said the father of two.

“The Education Fund is wonderful,” said Ms. Simpson. “The Learning Lab is an expensive program, but it’s not all about money. It’s about people, and it touches so many peoples’ lives.”

The DC 37 Education Fund works hard to get the latest in technology to meet the students’ needs. “We want to do even more in this area. There is a great digital divide, and poor and working people get left out of the loop,” explained Ms. Mealy. Now the Lab can introduce students to test-taking on a computer, the way the CUNY Entrance Exam is given.

New technology and new approaches, such as an experiment with group learning, ensure that the Learning Lab stays at the forefront of meeting the individual needs of the students who arrive on its doorstep every 12 weeks. “We open doors for them,” said Ms. Simpson.