Norwich — Students in adult education classes normally are juggling many issues at one time, from jobs and family problems to academic struggles and even transportation challenges.

Starting this year at Norwich Regional Adult Education, students, their teachers and guidance counselors will add a critical component often lost in the shuffle of daily pressures: a focus on the future after graduation.

Jody Lefkowitz, the newly appointed director of Norwich Regional Adult Education, has spent the summer working on restructuring the entire program.

Changes were needed to meet new stricter state standards, budget cuts and in response to a series of recommendations in an independent audit of the program completed this spring by the regional education agency, EASTCONN.

Starting this school year, the high school credit diploma program will shift from a semester class structure to a quarterly structure, with a stronger curriculum now tied to 16 so-called career pathways defined by the state Department of Labor as major needs in the state and region.

Students will work with guidance counselors and their teachers on career goals, whether it be further education, career training or jobs upon graduation, Lefkowitz said.

Stronger efforts will be made to keep students in school, find out why some stop coming to class and try to respond to those challenges.

“That's the bottom line about adult education,” Lefkowitz said Friday. “It used to be get your diploma or learn English. Now, it's focusing on 'what's next?'”

The state DOL has identified three major categories of job need: manufacturing, health fields and information technology.

Like high schools and colleges — including Three Rivers Community College's new advanced manufacturing program — adult education centers must prepare students to meet those needs, Lefkowitz said.

Adult education teachers will undergo performance evaluations for the first time this year, as well.

Two teachers retired this year, and 10 adult ed teachers were laid off as part of Norwich school budget cuts in June. Some position hours were reduced and custodial staff was cut.

Still, 12 new positions were required in the restructuring, including seven teachers needed to re-open a satellite program at Stonington High School.

It made no sense for Stonington-area students to travel to Norwich for classes, and Stonington officials had planned to leave the program if the former satellite program was not restored and improved, Norwich Superintendent Abby Dolliver said.

Groton did leave the Norwich program, shifting to the much closer New London Adult Education this year, she said.

Lefkowitz, who served as interim director of Norwich adult ed since January before being appointed as the full-time new director, was working on restructuring the program when hit with a last-minute $300,000 budget cut from reduced state funding and Groton's departure.

This year's total budget of $929,165 is some $200,000 lower than last year's budget.

Mindful that education budgets throughout the region were strained this year, Norwich did not increase fees for partner districts.

The program cut nonmandated classes with low enrollments, and cut instructional hours of the popular English language program for immigrants.

Registration is ongoing until classes start after Labor Day.

Last school year, Norwich adult ed started with 614 students, including 341 in English as a second language classes.

Physical changes also will be implemented this year in the school, located at 191 Hickory St.

The EASTCONN report cited obsolete technology — the school didn't have wifi until this year — and cramped conditions at the former elementary school building.

Although the recommendation to relocate “to a more appropriate space” is not feasible at this time, some improvements to classroom space, handicapped accessibility and technology are in the works, Dolliver said.

Portable walls will be used to divide classrooms rather than file cabinets, for example.

Norwich adult ed was struggling, Dolliver said, after two years of changing interim leaders after former Director Mary Berry retired. When Norwich asked for the audit, school officials considered outsourcing the program altogether.

The auditors met with staff and reviewed the program budget and new state regulations for adult ed programs and recommended extensive changes, some of which are now under way.

“It was such a challenge,” she said of overseeing the program. “Many details were not being attended to during the transition. Some state mandates needed to be beefed up.”

Dolliver interviewed several candidates when school officials decided to keep the program in-house. Lefkowitz “rose to the top" and was the unanimous choice of the interview team.

c.bessette@theday.com