Staff Report
The Community Church College is on an innovation streak. A long standing educational institution for retirees and others provides information, education and entertainment on a wide range of topics as a service for the local community. The school has long offered two six-week terms, one starting in mid-October, and another in mid-February.
With new Dean Anne Ginevan and Office Manager Larry Piechoski in place, the non-profit school in Sun City Center continues to experiment with added offerings.
According to Instructor Philip Coates, “One advantage of offering adult education for retired people is it can be shorter and more informal. Six weeks is more digestible and more ‘bite-sized’ for most people than a normal college semester. Another advantage is a much wider range of offerings, providing useful and interesting or helpful or fun sessions which don’t have to fit the rigid academic mold of a degree-granting college.”
This fall, the school is taking this flexibility and adaptability idea still further. Classes will no longer have to be exactly six weeks. Instructors can choose any length between one and six weeks.
A number of shorter classes will be held this fall. For example, a single lecture will be offered on the historic uniqueness of our country and its future, called America, the Last Best Hope.
Other classes range widely from financial and investment advice to interior design and painting, to photography and computer workshops, to health and nutrition and aging gracefully, to understanding different cultures, to learning basic Spanish and more.
The fall term runs from Monday, October 12 to Friday, November 20. Each class meets for 90 minutes and costs $25 for a six-week course or $6 per session for those who want to attend on a class-by-class basis. Full descriptions, times and classrooms for every course (as well as many one-day bus trips) are at 4lifelearning.org. Course catalogs are available at the SCC library, the SouthShore Regional Library, the CA gym, and the Kings Point main buildings.
Classes are held at the United Community Church, United Church of Christ, which has sponsored and hosted the school since 1976 as part of its outreach mission providing it with an office and spacious classrooms. The church is located at 1501 La Jolla Ave. in Sun City Center.
For more information, call 634-8607 or email tri-c@verizon.net. Register in the college office inside the church. There is a form on the school’s website to register online. Late registration will take place through Monday, October 12 in the college office. Walk-ins are always welcome.
