Murrysville recreation department takes over former adult education classes
Over the course of more than six decades, the Franklin Regional Adult School offered opportunities for residents to explore a wide range of topics, from law classes to Indian cooking to a class for older adults just starting out on Facebook.
The non-credit enrichment program — in which classes were typically conducted at Franklin Regional School District buildings but not officially affiliated with the district — is migrating to Murrysville’s Recreation Department, and officials there are seeking community volunteers to serve as instructors.
“Pretty much none of the instructors are transitioning over with us,” said Amy Wengrzyn, special events and program coordinator for the department.
Wengrzyn and recreation Director Carly Greene said they do not expect to be able to offer more than 90 courses that have been part of the previous adult-education curriculum, but its ultimate structure will depend on the response from both potential instructors and potential students.
“We don’t have that much content, but what we do have will be included in our annual program guide,” said Greene, who stressed that “adult education” does not mean seniors only.
“We’d really like to get people out in the parks,” she said. “We really want to keep pushing our walking programs and things like yoga in the park, which we’ll do again this year.”
Wengrzyn said plans are in the works for things like retirement planning programs, a series centered around veteran services available in Westmoreland County, bus trips to locations within a couple hours and even a concept similar to the Hempfield Parks and Recreation Department’s monthly “Lunch Bunch,” which organizes trips for seniors to restaurants throughout the region.
Wengrzyn is also open to suggestions.
“We’ve always been interested in ideas from residents,” she said. “We have instructor-interest and course-proposal forms on the recreation website.”
Recreation officials are open to working with instructors who have a unique idea for a course.
“We’re not experts in what everyone wants and needs,” Wengrzyn said. “We’ve had people host cooking demos at their house before.”
For more, or if you have an idea for a course, visit MurrysvillePArecreation.com.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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