MONROE — When Mayor Donnetta Walser peers through storefronts in downtown Monroe, she is looking for more than merchandise.
She is shopping for academic possibilities.
Everett Community College and Monroe community leaders have been meeting periodically to discuss how the college could expand its presence in east Snohomish County.
“There are a lot of needs out here,” Walser said. “I think they would be amazed at the support.”
EvCC already serves about 200 students a quarter in Monroe. The college uses Monroe High School and Park Place Middle School, working around their schedules. It offers classes for a variety of students, including recent immigrants learning English, late teens and adults working toward a high school diploma and students trying to earn a community college degree.
Ideally, the college would have its own building, which would allow it to offer day classes and a more flexible schedule, EvCC officials said.
The college also could consider moving “an anchor program” to Monroe, such as criminal justice or a health-related field, which could help meet local employer needs at the state prison or Valley General Hospital.
“We are beginning to look at ways to do new things over there,” said David Beyer, the EvCC president.
Beyer is no stranger to working at community colleges that have education centers off the main campus, including a successful program at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell, Mont. He also worked for Colorado Mountain College, which had seven campuses spread across six counties in the western part of that state. Beyer was the chief executive officer at one of the colleges.
Sandra Fowler-Hill, EvCC’s vice president of instruction, worked for Olympic College in Bremerton, when the college established programs in Poulsbo and Shelton. She believes Everett can achieve the same success.
“We are looking at ourselves as a district college, not just a college off of Wetmore (Avenue),” Fowler-Hill said.
Neil Watkins, executive director of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce, is on the EvCC committee exploring educational options in the east county community.
“I get the sense there is community support behind it,” Watkins said. “It has yet to be seen the how and the timing but I think there is definitely support.”
EvCC has had a presence in Monroe since the fall of 1999. Part of the original motivation was to increase access for students who might not be able to make it to Everett for classes and to cut down on travel time and expense. Today’s rising gas prices underscore the need, college officials said.
Roughly 40 percent of EvCC students in Monroe are taking university transfer classes and 60 percent are taking adult education classes that can include learning English as a second language or pursuing a high school diploma. Seventy percent are residents of Monroe, Sultan and Snohomish with 52 percent of those from Monroe.
Sheila Dunn, who oversees the Monroe program for the college, said the experiences Beyer and Fowler-Hill bring to the table are encouraging.
“David has made it a priority and has integrated it into his vision of increasing access,” she said. “The minute (Fowler-Hill) set foot on this campus my whole world in Monroe opened up in terms of possibilities.”
Beyer said the college also is looking at adding classes in the north part of the county, but is not as far along as it is in Monroe.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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