{"id":149931,"date":"2026-03-02T18:19:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/149931\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T18:19:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:19:14","slug":"adult-education-hub-opens-at-queens-borough-hall-supporting-ged-esl-and-cte-programs-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/149931\/","title":{"rendered":"Adult education hub opens at Queens Borough Hall, supporting GED, ESL and CTE programs \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"AdultEd1\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A grand opening for the brand new District 79 Adult Education Enrollment Hub at Queens Borough Hall, in Kew Gardens, was hosted last Thursday, Feb. 26.<\/p>\n

Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n

A brand new District 79<\/a> Adult Education Enrollment Hub opened at Queens Borough Hall, in Kew Gardens<\/a>, expanding its class offerings and providing tuition-free education to adult learners who are earning their General Educational Development diplomas, learning English as a Second Language or enrolling in Career and Technical Education programs.<\/p>\n

The hub \u2014 a result of a partnership between New York City Public Schools<\/a>, District 79 Superintendent Glenda Esperance and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards \u2014 was celebrated with a grand opening last Thursday, Feb. 26, in Room 318.<\/p>\n

It will be open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Applicants for the adult education program must be 21 years of age or older who live in NYC and do not have a U.S. High School diploma or equivalency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat amazing things can happen when we pool our resources together,\u201d Esperance said. \u201cWe know that when adults get the resources they need, they become the villagers that pour into the community and build up our students and everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Esperance thanked Richards for his contributions to the project, as well as his support of District 79\u2019s Alternate Learning Centers and other adult education<\/a> institutions such as East River Academy<\/a>, which serves students ages 18-21 who are incarcerated on Rikers Island.<\/p>\n

\"\"Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, left, and District 79 Superintendent Glenda Esperance partnered with New York City Public Schools to expand adult education programming.Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n

Richards said he envisions the new adult education hub as an incubator for the Queens community, strengthening the borough through its diverse programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never too late to learn,\u201d Richards said. \u201cWe live in the most diverse county in the United States of America, and we want our ESL learners to have these resources, as well. This is all part of our strategy to leave this place better than we found it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also noted that his administration has poured over $400 million into education across Queens since he first took office in December 2020.
\n\"\"The grand opening of the adult education hub took place in Room 318, where the program will host in-person classes.Photo by Renee DeLorenzo\n<\/p>\n

Olga Stewart-Nelson, principal of Adult Education School 2, serves adult learners in Queens North including Corona, Jackson Heights, Astoria, Ridgewood and Fresh Meadows. She said ESL students are the program\u2019s largest cohort, although it also offers GEDs and CTE courses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis space here is definitely going to allow us to build awareness and serve even more students,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re very appreciative.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Sabrina Fleming, principal of Adult Education School 3, serves students in Queens South, spanning from Long Island City to Far Rockaway.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Fleming noted that the program has case managers working flexible hours to ensure adult learners have the opportunity to come to class, partnering with other services at Queens Borough Hall to ensure all barriers are removed and students can focus on their education.<\/p>\n

\"\"Olga Stewart-Nelson, principal of Adult Education School 2, left, and Sabrina Fleming, principal of Adult Education School 3, second left, said the new hub will help them expand adult education services to more students.Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n

According to Annette Knox, executive director of adult education, the program gives adult learners a second opportunity to achieve the American dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn education, we always learn it is the key,\u201d Knox said. \u201cPeople can get a good education and provide a pathway for their children.\u2019\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Richards, who said he was the first member of his family to graduate high school and college, has helped encourage his younger siblings to do the same. His own son, Richards continued, stands on his shoulders and has pursued leadership roles in his educational journey, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I\u2019m proud,\u201d Richards said to adult learners in the program. \u201cI\u2019m proud you\u2019re taking the next step in your educational career. You never know where you will land, or how much you\u2019ll be an inspiration to people who see you taking this step.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rommel Gallamos, who was raised in the Philippines, said he immigrated to New York with a dream of going back to college after issues in his home country made it difficult for him to complete his education there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When he arrived, however, he first had to earn a high school equivalent diploma. He searched on Google for free adult education programs and came across District 2 of the Queens Adult Learning Center, quickly enrolling and studying hard to pass his exams.<\/p>\n

Gallamos finally earned his diploma, which he showed off during the grand opening on Thursday, and is currently applying to colleges.
\n\"\"Rommel Gallamos, a Filipino immigrant, said the Queens Adult Learning Center helped him pursue his dream of earning his diploma and attending college.Photo by Renee DeLorenzo\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully I can live the American dream,\u201d he said. \u201c[District 2] welcomed me, and they\u2019re basically like my second family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elysee Utway, who immigrated to the U.S. from Congo, enrolled in the adult education program knowing very little English. However, the program offered her ESL classes and taught her how to speak the language, which she did fluently during the grand opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to everybody for this program,\u201d Utway said. \u201cTo be an adult and learning is not easy, especially in New York where so many things are happening right now. It\u2019s not easy, but we thank God because we have support from the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about the adult education hub and its services, visit Schools.NYC.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Elysee Utway, a Congolese immigrant, said not only did the adult education program help her pursue educational goals, but it helped her learn English, as well.Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A grand opening for the brand new District 79 Adult Education Enrollment Hub at Queens Borough Hall, in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[310,9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-149931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-daily-newsletter","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}