ABOUT US

The Project GREAT Adult Education and Family Literacy Regional Centers of Excellence were designed and developed by Texas LEARNS in 2003 to address the professional development needs of adult education and family literacy practitioners in Texas .  There are eight service regions in the state of Texas , each of which manages a Project GREAT center.  Follow the link to the map of the regions. 

The Far West Project GREAT Center is managed by Socorro Independent School District as the fiscal agent and operates with the guidance of an Advisory Council.  The Council meets on a quarterly basis to discuss regional, state and federal topics.  For additional information regarding the Council and the recent meetings, please click here. 

The GREAT Center is co-located with the District’s Community Services department and addresses the professional development needs of the Adult Education programs in the El Paso and Hudspeth counties.  Currently, there are eleven (11) programs operating in the Far West region.  Follow the link to the Far West Adult Education programs. 

VISION

Preparing adult teachers and administrators to help adults learn and succeed

MISSION

The Far West GREAT Center is committed to providing high quality, intensive, customized professional development to adult education teachers and technical support to all adult education programs in its service area for the purpose of improving the basic skills of all adult students and supporting their employment and continuing education and training goals.  The Far West GREAT Center achieves these objectives by:

• Assessing the needs of its stakeholders including students, teachers and program administrators. 
• Developing effective research-based professional development opportunities that address the greatest needs in terms of student performance and program success.
• Communicating effectivelyand implementing statewide adult education initiatives designed to improve program performance.
• Providing a forum for adult education programs in our region to share ideas and collaborate in the development of creative solutions to the problems that confront adult education.
• Fostering partnerships with other organizations to collaborate in the achievement of student goals after they leave the adult education system

Far West Project GREAT Staff

Maria J. Cesnik, Project Coordinator, is the newest member of the Far West GREAT team. She taught ESL at El Paso Community College for twelve years and served as instructional coordinator at a local adult education program for ten years before transitioning to the GREAT Center in 2009. She serves in several advisory boards and councils related to adult education and staff development throughout the state of Texas. Ms. Cesnik holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana

Lety Jones, Project Administrative Specialist, joined the team in September 2006.  She is responsible for the grant’s administrative duties including, but not limited to, purchase orders, scheduling of trainings, and grant bookkeeping.  Ms. Jones previously worked in the private training environment where she enhanced her experience in management and administrative duties.  Ms. Jones holds a bachelor of science degree from Park University at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Mary Jo Ochoa, Project Grant Specialist, joined the team in early 2006 to assist with the coordination of professional development activities for the region. She has over eight years of experience in developing and establishing contracted projects in the state workforce development system.  Ms. Ochoa also has extensive experience in grant and proposal development and received her bachelor degree from the University of Texas at El Paso.

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