By Jim Misunas
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

LARNED — The Pawnee County Learning Center, located at 209 E. 6th Street in Larned, is currently enrolling students for the 2014-2015 school year.
Open enrollment will continue through Sept. 19 and is offered free of charge. The program provides classes to anyone over the age of 18 who wants to earn a high school diploma. The Pawnee County Learning Center is working with 27 high school and adult students.
The Pawnee County Learning Center operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. Students operate at their own pace on their own schedule with work possible on-site, at home and through the Internet anywhere.
Additional services offered at the center include Work Keys Certificationand career development assistance. For information contact Pete Russum, 620-285-7700; or by email at peter@essdack.org. The website is https://essdack.org/LC/pawneecountylearningcenter.
Russum is assisted by part-time employees Phyllis Foster and Betty Halderman.
The ESSDACK Learning Center concept began as a performance-based high school diploma program in 1996 in four central Kansas locations. The program has evolved and expanded into community learning centers across Kansas.
Crucial to the Learning Center success is the support of the sponsoring high schools, many of which now also utilize the program as an alternative for traditionally-aged high school students, both as drop-out and recovery. Courses meet the standards of the district issuing the diploma.
The high school diploma program is consistent in all of the learning centers. The program is individualized for each student both in content and schedule. The students work at their own pace and set their own goals and timeline. The addition of totally virtual delivery in 2005 allows for anywhere, anytime learning. The addition of a career development component in the fall of 2006 helps meet long term goals of students.
Each learning center has adapted to meet the needs of the community it serves. The centers provide classes such as computer classes, ESL classes, virtual art, and workplace classes to community members. The flexibility of the courses allows each student to juggle employment and family responsibilities while earning his or her diploma.