DATE: Thursday, August 28, 1997             TAG: 9708270209

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 22   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   61 lines

PUBLIC SCHOOLS OFFER ADULTS MYRIAD OF COURSES

For many adults who want to make their dreams in retrospect a reality, there's still time to get that long sought diploma and make the transition from Stone Age to new age of education and learning.

And there are plenty of classes to boot in adult education courses, and you need not be between the ages of 4 and 18 to qualify for the programs.

Adults can upgrade their education at several places: the Lafayette-Winona Evening School, Madison Career Center, Norfolk Preparatory High School and Norfolk Technical Vocational Center. All offer a variety of courses from General Education Development classes to the math and English basics.

``We offer a wide variety of classes for all people,'' said Denise Wiggins, director of adult and vocational education.

``We want to let people know that education doesn't stop with a diploma.''

The continuing education courses are designed to meet the needs of adults who have less than a ninth-grade education in most cases and need to improve basic skills like reading and/or writing.

But adults agree, these courses are elementary, and nowadays they want a little more to help them become well-rounded in their social skills too.

So to the adult dreaming of sailing the Bay, you may first want to take a course in boating skills and seamanship at the Norfolk Technical and Vocational Center.

This course teaches the unskilled the rules of the water in 13 weeks while learning radio-handling, boat-handling and how to navigate the seas.

For the would-be Wall Street guru, there's a class in financial planning and investment. The three-session seminars help students understand the dynamics of money while teaching investment options and how to properly make a financial plan for a business.

And since the couch has been upholding the potato at length, there's a lot the couch potato can do to make it up to the couch, like take a course in upholstery.

For $87, students learn the fundamentals of webbing, tacking, stuffing and minor refinishing and rebuilding of furniture in this course at the Madison Career Center.

There are even courses in ballroom dancing to get you moving, as well as an aerobics class to get you energized.

And with all the quirkiness of computers, there's no reason for uncertainty anymore. There are several classes designed to help students get acclimated with keyboarding, and learn how to create documents and even design on computers.

Although keeping up with technology by taking this course may carry a hefty price tag ($105), some courses cost as little as nothing.

Adults in the beginning stages of literacy can take the Literacy and Language Reading for Success course for free at the Madison Career Center. Books are also free.

For the first time, a financial management course for women is being offered at the Lafayette-Winona Center. According to reports, 85 percent of all women will be alone during some extended period of time in their life. Therefore, this two-hour workshop addresses their financial independence.

``Should women be confronted with divorce or death, they will know how to handle it,'' said Wiggins about the course.

Specific topics include investment planning, college and retirement planning, risk management (insurance), taxes and estate planning, for $15.

Various courses are offered day or night.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu