At Dover Adult Learning Center of Strafford County, lives are transformed through education. Adults and youth find new opportunities to learn, build self- confidence and become economically self-sufficient. They leave better prepared for work, college and training, and improve their skills as family members and citizens.

Adult Learning in Dover began in 1968. Fifty years later, our multiple locations (Dover, Rochester, and Strafford County Department of Corrections) have served one of the largest adult literacy populations in the state.

More than 8,000 people have become high school graduates here. The 2022 graduating class numbered 114 adult high school diploma and high school equivalency recipients.

In 2022, we served students in all 13 Strafford County towns. We are the only adult learning center in and the only HiSET testing site in the county.

Last year, more than 1,800 students enrolled in our educational and testing programs: about 500 in literacy and high school completion programs, and more than 100 received training in their workplace or transitional housing location.

In 2022, more than 150 adults from 36 different countries took classes in person, via Zoom or both to improve their English skills; or earn US Citizenship.

At the Strafford County House of Corrections, 29 inmates received instruction to prepare for the High School Equivalency (HiSET). Our teachers used a “pick up and drop off” system and “zoomed” in until they could return to in-person instruction midyear.

We provide a safety net for teens. Each year, about 100 youth complete some or all of their high school education with us under alternative learning plans and become part of the graduation rate instead of the dropout rate.