Sometimes, when we have done something the same way for so long, it can be tough to see other options. We need a bit of a shake-up to push us to the next big thing. We need a challenge that forces us to adapt and sometimes that adaptation turns out to be better than the original.
I recently learned about a great example of adaptation. The Durango Adult Education Center is a funded partner of United Way of Southwest Colorado. It provides educational services, including GED preparation and testing. The goal of that program is to help students earn high school equivalency diplomas in the minimum amount of time in order to facilitate entry into the workforce or post-secondary education. In 2014, the GED test was changed to be more rigorous. As a result, there was a significant decline in the number of students who were graduating from the program.
The DAEC team wanted their students to succeed – they decided to adapt. They had an idea: What if the GED students were taught one subject at time, rather than several at once? The content could be accelerated and testing could be spread throughout the program. A pilot class in science was designed as a four-week intensive course. DAEC staff members were thrilled when 100 percent of the students passed the GED science test after the course.
They quickly adapted all of their subjects to the accelerated format. The statistics continue to show that the method helps students to be successful in passing the four GED exams, as well as helps them to complete the program at a faster rate than previously. In hindsight it looks so straightforward and logical, but change and adaptation takes hard work behind the scenes, too. Kudos to the DAEC team for making an opportunity out of a challenge!
Our nonprofit partners have shared many examples of adaption and innovation in recent years. For example, Volunteers of America has been helping to significantly reduce the occurrence of homeless in Veterans. La Plata Youth Services has found new methods of helping kids be successful in school and keeping them out of trouble in the first place. The Early Childhood Council of La Plata County has successfully highlighted the importance of quality early childhood experiences and is reinvigorating the work at numerous centers that help our youngest neighbors grow. I could keep listing big successes, but the column would be too long!
At United Way of Southwest Colorado, we are also committed to adapting to best serve the community. We have embraced new technology for engaging with donors and volunteers (e.g., text to pledge and online volunteer management), sought new solutions to our community’s toughest problems and identified powerful news ways to help community organizations work together instead of competing for scarce resources (e.g., setting shared goals and measuring our collective success).
Although our local, independent United Way has been around for over 40 years, we continue to evolve significantly. Thank you for Living United.
Lynn Urban is president and CEO of United Way of Southwest Colorado.
