Students at the Durango Adult Education Center pursue their GED's.
Durango Adult Education Center instructor Mary Mullen explains the measurement of volume and mass to students in science class at the center Thursday. The students are pursuing GED diplomas. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
A student passes a test tube to Durango Adult Education Center instructor Mary Mullen during a science lab held at the center Thursday. Almost 110 students are currently pursuing their GED diplomas right now. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Mary Mullen, an instructor at the Durango Adult Education Center, conducts a science lab experiment at the center Thursday. Since the GED battery of tests was rewritten in 2014, the center has redesigned its curriculum, and focuses on only two subjects at a time. Science and language arts are the current subjects. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
A science class in session, part of the GED program conducted at the Durango Adult Education Center on Thursday by instructor Mary Mullen. The rewritten GED battery of tests asks students to demonstrate higher mathematical and scientific reasoning skills than the previous test did. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
A student checks in at the front desk of the Durango Adult Education Center on Thursday. A Scrabble board at the desk entices to students to play at least one word. “It makes people think,” said DAEC Executive Director Teresa Malone. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
GED students surround Durango Adult Education Center instructor Mary Mullen, right, as she conducts a science lab experiment at the center. Because many adult students are struggling with issues such as housing insecurity and lack of child care, the center has started a new program to support its students in other ways in addition to academics. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Students at the Durango Adult Education Center use calculators to determine mass and volume during an experiment led by instructor Mary Mullen on Thursday. The students are among 109 people are pursing GED diplomas at the center. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Instructor Mary Mullen leads a science lab at the Durango Adult Education Center for people studying for the GED battery of tests. The DAEC’s students have a passing rate on the GED test of 91 percent, significantly above the state and national levels. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald