Coupeville School District has their eye on educating everyone, not just children and not just Coupeville residents.
The Community Education Program, administered by the school district, offers classes in a variety of subjects for people of all ages and interests. Anyone living on Whidbey Island is eligible to enroll.
“The whole idea of community education is to bring different types of educational programs to the community,” Cheryl Torres, community education coordinator, said.
Art, knitting, cake decorating, hand-stamping, finance and physical fitness are a few of the class offerings this fall. Some classes are one-time-only and others run for a number of consecutive weeks. The classes take place evenings and weekends at Coupeville School District facilities. A separate set of classes are open to children grades kindergarten through 12, outside of regular school hours. Classes are taught by individuals with experience or expertise in the subject matter.
Torres works on Coupeville Community Education, or CCE, year-round, developing a program that is well-rounded, easily accessible and reasonably priced.
“I oversee and hire instructors from all walks and ask them to come in and share with our community their knowledge,” Torres said. Torres is also a fitness instructor with CCE.
For the past four years Torres has also been involved with the school district’s wellness program, which was open to adult staff members and provided information and tips for healthy living. This year, CCE is taking the wellness program one step further and promoting and encouraging community wellness participation.
Called “For the Health of It!” the CCE program is open to all adults who want to accept the wellness challenge.
For $15 community members can sign up for the two-hour kick-off class to take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Coupeville Elementary School library. People who sign up will receive a pedometer, a device that is smaller than a pager and, when clipped on clothing, measures the number of steps that person takes.
Torres says that the U.S. Surgeon General recommends that people take a minimum of 10,000 steps per day for good health.
The class will provide information on walking and exercise, healthy life choices, and details of other “For the Health of It!” programs. For an additional $10, participants will receive a T-shirt with the “For the Health of It!” logo. The $10 T-shirt will also take care of registration for the Oct. 3 Wellness Walk Across Coupeville, which begins at noon on Main Street
“It’s time to take wellness to the streets,” Torres said. “It’s very exciting.”
The community-wide wellness effort, Torres said, was the idea of Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard. Torres said Conard called her and asked her to work with others on the program.
“I think we have an awesome mayor,” Torres said of Conard. “She’s so involved.”
While physical fitness is important for healthy living, Torres added that the CCE program offers classes and activities that take emotional and social wellness into consideration.
“Wellness isn’t just about fitness,” Torres said.
Classes in arts and crafts, for example, help people to tap into their creative side, make friends and find enrichment, creating a sense of wellness for those people.
