HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

With approximately 36 million U.S. adults lacking the “basic math, language, and digital literacy skills necessary to find well-paying jobs and navigate public and social systems,” according to Digital Promise, adult education programs are critical in helping adults from diverse backgrounds learn these important skills so they can progress toward educational achievement and life-long success.

At Antelope Valley Adult School (AVAS) in northern Los Angeles County, students enroll for a variety of reasons, including court or family mandates; they dropped out of high school; they need diplomas to apply for jobs or financial aid at local community colleges; or their diplomas or credits from other countries are not recognized in the U.S. To provide students with a flexible yet rigorous educational program, AVAS partnered with Fuel Education™ (FuelEd™). The students use FuelEd Online Courses as part of a blended program that combines learning in a classroom as well as online.

“We have around 700 students enrolled in the program at any given time, but we serve about 2,400 students total over the course of a year,” said Evelyn Lenton, the Adult Secondary Education Coordinator at AVAS, which is part of the Antelope Valley Union High School District. “We don’t have a ‘typical’ student, so we rely on creating connections with each student and using adaptive online learning tools to support them through their adult education.”

When a student enrolls at AVAS, the school counselor evaluates their transcript to determine how many credits they need to graduate and assigns them two FuelEd Online Courses to start. Courses cover a multitude of subjects, including English, math, science, history/social sciences, and electives. Students are able to complete the online courses at their own pace, which is a necessity for adult education. Students then attend class at one of two sites multiple times a week.

“Most people who don’t have their high school diplomas were unable to continue their education because of circumstances out of their control,” said Lenton. “The combination of the FuelEd Online Courses, one-on-one relationships with AVAS staff, and the overall flexibility of the program helps students overcome their obstacles.”

During class, students get instruction and support from teachers, instructional aids and the school counselor; they also take all end-of-unit and course exams. AVAS has split each FuelEd Online Course into five one-credit units so students can earn partial credit if they should have to discontinue their AVAS enrollment mid-course. This also ensures students do not have to repeat parts of a course if they have already earned partial credit from another school. Once a student completes a course, he or she sits down with their teacher and discusses which course they will take next to keep moving them toward completion of their high school requirements.

"Fuel Education offers a powerful learning solution that addresses the unique needs of adult students," said Gregg Levin, Fuel Education’s General Manager. "Using the flexibility and personalization available with online curriculum, combined with onsite support and mentoring, Antelope Valley Adult School has created the ideal environment to motivate adult learners and spark their success."

To learn more about FuelEd Online Courses, visit fueleducation.com.

About Fuel Education

Fuel Education™ partners with school districts to fuel personalized learning and transform the education experience inside and outside the classroom. The company provides innovative solutions for pre-K through 12th grade that empower districts to implement successful online and blended learning programs. Its open, easy-to-use Personalized Learning Platform, PEAK™, enables teachers to customize courses using their own content, FuelEd courses and titles, third-party content, and open educational resources. Fuel Education has served more than 2,000 school districts, offering one of the industry’s largest catalogs of K–12 digital curriculum, certified instruction, professional development, and educational services. To learn more, visit fueleducation.com and Twitter.

©2017 Fuel Education LLC. All rights reserved. Fuel Education and FuelEd are trademarks of Fuel Education LLC or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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