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| Last updated on September 10, 2008 |
Our mission is to help people become more productive workers, family members and community citizens. We provide supportive, affordable and effective educational programs, including: adult basic education, job training and career counseling, education and training for at-risk youth, and child care services.
Description:
Second Start is a private non-profit educational corporation located in Concord, New Hampshire since 1971. Second Start offers a wide variety of programs designed to improve the economic and educational well-being of New Hampshire residents.
The Adult Learner Services program matches volunteer tutors with adults from our community who need help learning to read, write, or to speak English. Tutors receive training, materials and ongoing support after being matched with a student. The students are from a population of adults who need classes at Second Start, but for a variety of reasons, can not attend.
History:
An educational needs assessment conducted for the City of Concord in 1970 revealed that Concord was in need of a comprehensive adult education program. According to the 1970 Census, 42% of Merrimack County's adult population had not finished high school. In response, two educators, Ruth Hooke and Nancy Callahan, took up the challenge. After several months, they were able to secure small grants from the Spaulding Potter Trust and the State Department of Adult Basic Education.
With $4,000, two part-time staff members, a babysitter, and a handful of volunteers, they opened the doors of Second Start in the basement of the First Congregational Church in February of 1971. The program operated two mornings a week providing instruction in basic reading, writing, math, and life-coping skills.
In September 1971, the childcare program was licensed by the State as a daycare provider. In September 1972 one part-time business teacher was hired, and with two donated typewriters, the clerical training program began to provide adults with employable skills.
Continued Development in the Seventies…
In 1974 Second Start was awarded a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education to further develop literacy programs. The first full-time staff was hired and the scope of the agency's services expanded.
The program outgrew the facilities of the First Congregational Church and in the spring of 1975 moved to the recently vacated West Concord Firehouse.
The First Half of the Eighties (1980-1985)…
In the spring of 1980, the Adult Basic Education, Office Skills Training, and Daycare Programs moved to the Walker Building on the New Hampshire Hospital grounds. This move made possible the expansion of the daycare program from 15 children part-time to 55 children full-time.
Additional support services for welfare mothers were added, as well as English as a Second Language classes to serve the influx of Asian refugees, and a volunteer tutorial program.
September of 1984 saw the addition of the Transition & Employment Training Program designed for adolescents who have been unsuccessful in finding and maintaining employment. A substance abuse program was also added for adolescents who are experiencing drug and alcohol problems or are from families where drug and alcohol abuse is a problem.
In 1986 Second Start was cited by the United States Department of Education as an outstanding example of excellence in Adult Education.
By 1987, over 1,800 children and adults were served by Second Start.
Second Start 1985-1990...
Second Start negotiated a sale with the Concord School Board (May, 1987 to January,1988) for the purchase of the Garrison School for nominal consideration.
The City of Concord applied for and was awarded, on Second Start's behalf, two Community Development Block Grants from the Office of State Planning in 1987 & 1988 in the amount of $231,000 to assist with these renovation projects.
The Board of Directors conducted Second Start's first ever Capital Campaign in the spring of 1988 and raised approximately $600,000 from the Greater Concord community and $100,000 from private foundations.
The Adult Education Office and Training and Childcare programs moved from the Walker Building to the newly renovated Garrison building in time for September classes. The Daycare was expanded to over 100 children and the space provided much improved classrooms for Adult Education.
Second Start in the Nineties...
In 1990 Second Start's Adult Literacy program was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the ten best literacy programs in the country. The agency name was changed from Project Second Start to Second Start because we no longer felt we could be described as a project.
In 1994 Second Start was able to upgrade its instructional computers in the Office Program with $15,000 from private foundations. The placement rate of the Office Program was 100% of completers for the second year in a row.
Second Start again received the Secretary of Education's Award for Outstanding Adult Education and Literacy Programs in September 1996. September 1996 also marked the beginning of Second Start's 25th year of service to the Greater Concord community.
In the Fall of 1997 the Office Program began the huge task of becoming an accredited program for Title IV government funds. This would enable our clients to use federal student financial aid to attend the program. In August of 1998, the office program was accredited by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training. (ACCET). In August of 1999 the Office Program received full accreditation from the Department of Education to administer federal financial aid (Title IV) money.
During the Spring of 1998, Second Start was awarded a statewide contract to provide intense employment counseling services to welfare recipients. This program was based on a model that was being used at Second Start on a smaller scale only in Merrimack County since 1993. The program expanded to serve the communities of Concord, Manchester, Nashua, Salem, Plymouth, Littleton, Colebrook Keene, Claremont, Lebanon, Conway, Berlin, Rochester/Dover and Portsmouth/Exeter.
Second Start's Student Assistance program grew in 1998 to include drug, alcohol and violence prevention services at the elementary level.
Second Start in the New Millennium…
In 2001, the ESL population for both day and evening classes almost doubled. Also, the agency implemented a major technology upgrade with the purchase of 92 new and upgraded PCs and the installation of its first Local Area Network connecting both its buildings.
Contact people:
Office fax number: (603) 228-3852
Address:
Web Site: http://www.second-start.org
Directions:
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Here are the directions from Rt. 93
Take Exit 15 W
Go straight through one set of lights. Take a right at the second set onto North State Street.
Follow North State Street to Hutchins Street (about 1 1/2 miles beyond the State. . . (more)
Nearest Bus Stop: N. State Street and Hutchins, 5 minute walk |
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