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Welcome to Vermont Adult Learning!

Vermont Adult Learning helps adult learners, ages 16 and older, acquire reading, writing, math, and computer skills to earn high school diplomas/GEDs. We teach English Language Learners skills to advance educationally and at work. We engage in workforce development. Our services are offered at no cost and are available in person and online. Text VAL to 833-900-0907 or contact a Learning Center nearest to you to learn more!

Note for in-person learning: We no longer require masks in our learning centers. Anyone at high risk or wishing to continue wearing a mask for other reasons is welcome to do so. We will continue to have masks available in our centers for those who need them.

Those who choose to wear a mask do so because it is a decision they have made for their health and safety. Vermont Adult Learning expects that decision to be respected. If you have concerns about your safety, please let us know so we can discuss options to address them.

Learning Matters Blog and VAL Updates

Eric Peterson: From Roller Derby to Reading (2/23/2021) - As the Regional Director, Eric oversees VAL operations within Franklin & Grand Isle counties. In particular, he keeps an eye on the budget, networks with the community to bring attention to programs and services, and supervises a staff of eight individuals across different programs such as: high school completion, English Language Learning, and other adult-based education services. Eric began his higher education journey at Northern Vermont University (called Johnson State College at the time). However, after two years, he realized the school was not the right fit for him and took some time off to work. He earned his Associate’s…

I’m really proud of my diploma ~ Earlene (2/18/2021) - “I couldn’t read until a few years ago. Now, I love to read,” Earlene said. “I read all the time. I can borrow books from all the libraries---Fairfax, Milton, Essex, Colchester and Georgia. My favorite is Georgia (her hometown). The librarian knows me and she’s so nice.” Earlene is currently working her way through Fannie Flagg’s book, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. The novel was a high school graduation gift from her employer. Reading was not always a part of Earlene’s life. She experienced learning difficulties in school and left at 16 to enter the workforce. She…

Leigh Smith: Giving adult learners a leg up in life (2/11/2021) - Leigh Smith is an English Language Learning (ELL) Instructor at the Franklin & Grand Isle Learning Center of Vermont Adult Learning (VAL). Leigh began volunteering at VAL in 2008 while pursuing her Master’s degree. She has worked at VAL since 2014. As an ELL instructor for Franklin & Grand Isle, Leigh instructs speakers of other languages and helps them with their English. She is also able to relate her experience living abroad in Germany as a way to empathize with the cultural, emotional, and mental challenges that students could be facing living in a foreign country. Leigh earned her undergraduate…

Meet Katya: “VAL Gave Me An Opportunity to Be Successful” (2/4/2021) - Belarus is known for its potatoes, tractors and being one of the poorest countries in Europe. It is also a beautiful, heavily forested nation with a population of 9.5 million people. This former Soviet Republic has been ruled by Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko since 1994. Katya arrived in Vermont in the summer of 1998 from Minsk. She just completed tenth grade and, at 16, spoke three languages---Russian, Belarussian and Polish. She came to the United States to reunite with her father whom she had not seen in seven years. “I only came to visit for the summer, but we decided that it…

From Myitkyina to Middlebury (1/28/2021) - John was born in Myitkyina which means “near the big river” in Burmese. The city of 150,000 people sits on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar (Burma). John’s homeland, part of the British Raj, gained independence in 1948. This former colony found itself bereft of homegrown, stabilizing institutions. Sectarian violence erupted, triggering a 60-year civil war. A 1962 military coup resulted in a junta that finally ended when Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won national elections in 2015. Today, Myanmar is deemed a “partial democracy.” John, a member of the Christian Kachin…