Pop quiz for adult ed chief in Huntington

By Tim Healy
tim.healy@newsday.com

Kenneth A. Card, the principal of the Woodhull Intermediate School, has been named director of the Huntington school district’s adult and continuing education program. He is a May 2006 graduate of Dowling College’s doctoral program in educational administration, leadership and technology and he has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in history from Stony Brook. Before coming to Huntington, he was an assistant principal at Oldfield Middle School in the Harborfields district. There are details below about signing up for classes, but first we asked him some quick questions:

Q. Do you have any changes planned yet in terms of programs?
A. Not really, because I got appointed late in August and I really have to scramble quickly to try to get it together for the fall, but in the spring I hope to add many more choices for the residents in Huntington, looking at programs from working on the Internet to maybe programs geared toward citizenship for some of the people who live in our community who might be pursuing citizenship. More things that are creative and fun for the community residents . . . We’re also looking at programs related to real estate – how to be a wise consumer of refinancing your home mortgage – because I think that’s really important, given the current climate we’re in.

Q. What’s the most popular course now?
A. At this moment, I would have to say the dancing. There’s a ballroom dancing course that’s offered and I think that’s been pretty consistent over the past couple of years. I also think that our sports programs … indoor soccer has been widely attended by many of the district residents … Hopefully we’ll be able to build on those.

Q. What’s your most unusual course?
A. Probably creating travel books . . . It’s pretty unusual, but pretty creative.

Q. You’re the principal at the intermediate school, and now you’re going to be dealing with adults. Do you have any sense yet of which kind of students are easier to deal with?
A. Well, I think they are a different population … I think adult ed/continuing ed people are doing it for their own enrichment and enjoyment. And kids are pretty much mandated – it’s something they have to do, but we hope that once they get here, they see that there are many other things that they can do, that really are rewarding in terms of being with their peers and learning together with their peers and working with teachers to build knowledge. So I think they are two different groups and I really don’t think you can compare them.

How to find out and sign up
The Huntington School District’s adult education program will hold fall semester registration from Monday to Wednesday in the Huntington High School lobby from 7-9 p.m. Regular course fees are $15 for resident senior citizens (whenever space is available, except for those classes marked special fee or limited), $50 for other district residents and $65 for those living outside the district. Fees can vary based on the specific course and the duration of the class. (One day seminars can run as little as $16 for residents.) Classes begin the week of Oct. 1.

Information on fall courses can be found on the district’s Web site. If you need more information, contact Card at 673-2010 or e-mail him at adulted@hufsd.edu. And they're accepting ideas for new courses or proposals to teach a class.