Adults interested in fitness, home hobbies, or renewing a technical license can sign up for community education classes this fall. After a brief sabbatical last school year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cattaraugus Country school district is restarting its in-person courses, including community education.
"The fall program will continue to evolve feature a myriad of course options in outdoor fitness, technology literacy, and community hobbies this October said Adult Education Administrator Aaron Straus, who also coordinates the district's award-winning STEAM program.
"During the fall, we are planning to focus on health and fitness courses that utilize our region's unique and natural landscape. We have a fall course schedule for biking, kayaking, hiking, swimming, Zumba, and pickleball. Additionally, we have numerous courses in hobby technical applications such as drones, model-making, and fall landscape painting scheduled."
The Salamanca Adult Education program is a year-round initiative that started in the late '90s when community and parent engagement became the forefront of discussions in New York State. Many districts charge a fee for community courses ranging from a few dollars to thousands of dollars. Superintendent Breidenstein says Salamanca Schools is proud to offer Community Education, in most cases free of charge, to district residents. "Course development is a collaborative effort, weaving in Salamanca's local business for hobby and trades classes and involving the Seneca Nation of Indian neighbors."
During the winter and side-by-side with the district high school Project SAMI vocational program, the school is exploring options for running additional workforce-focused machinist programs in collaboration with nearby manufacturing operations.
The district is also seeking additional community assistance for future programs. Businesses or community members with talents or areas of interest that they would like to share are encouraged to contact Aaron Straus, astraus@salamancany.org, to become instructors. Those wishing to attend Adult Education classes are asked to sign up in advance. They can visit the Community Education Program's website, www.salamancany.org/AdultEducation, to sign up or call (716) 945-2404 for class information.
Please visit our website for course updates, late additions and/or changes. You can also visit www.salamancany.org/communityed for the latest information on each course. New courses will be added periodically.
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