DURANGO ADULT EDUCATION CENTER

DAEC is the only Adult Education Center to serve the five-county region that makes up the Four Corners region of Colorado. DAECs main programs are English as a Second Language (ESL) and High School Equivalency programs (GED). Celebrating its 39th anniversary in 2025, DAEC is a highly effective program offering in-person classes to students ages 17+ who, for many reasons, were not able to complete the "expected" path through school or find themselves in a country where they do not have the language or literacy skills to participate fully in social or economic offerings. DAEC staff work to individualize the educational experience, enabling students to overcome critical barriers to self-sufficiency and growth. Without the necessary skills, knowledge, and high school equivalency, students are unable to enter many jobs and cannot participate in most or all training and post-secondary opportunities. In 2024, DAEC served 312 learners, with 218 active learners, and 29 students completed their GED. One hundred nineteen students from 17 countries studied English. DAEC is the GED provider at the LPC Jail, serving 59 additional students there in 2024, with seven graduates in the 2023-2024 school year, and two additional in the 2024-2025 school year. DAEC offers career counseling to all students, past and present, with job readiness and skill-building opportunities. DAEC serves as an official Pearson Vue testing site, allowing many professional proctored exams to be taken in Durango instead of traveling to Denver or Albuquerque, proctoring 393 tests in 2024.