Harber is new director of Learning Center
By JENNIFER WILSON
News editor
The Marion County Learning Center has a new director.
Julie Harber, formerly a teacher at both Hillsboro Middle School and Tabor College, has taken over the director's position effective Aug. 1
Harber had spent the past three years teaching Spanish at HMS. Before that, she taught English as a Second Language courses at Tabor.
Harber replaces Sharon Suderman.
The Marion County Learning Center, located at 107 S. Main in Hillsboro, helps nontraditional students earn their high school diplomas. It's not a place to earn a GED, Harber said.
The center is run by Educational Services and Staff Development Association of Central Kansas, or ESSDACK. The Hillsboro, Goessel, Marion, and Peabody school districts are all members of ESSDACK.
Students from all across the county will come to the center this fall, Harber said.
"I'm hoping that we'll have somewhere around 40," she said.
In addition to helping students earn their diplomas — whether they're 18 or 80 — the center also offers computer courses for home-schoolers as well as basic computer instruction for adults.
"It gets them computer literate," Harber said.
The center is already enrolling students, and classes will begin on Aug. 14 — following the Hillsboro school district calendar.
At the Learning Center, Harber's duties will vary, from helping students with computer courses to grading papers and projects.
She's currently looking to hire a para educator to help out.
And coming from a teaching background where she was just responsible for one subject, Harber knows that her new job will be a challenge.
"I have a lot to learn, because it's a whole different ballgame," she said.
