In the Fall 2019 semester, 390 Miami Beach residents enrolled at the Miami Beach Adult and Community Education Center through Miami-Dade County Public Schools to enhance their English proficiency through English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes and to obtain their high school equivalency through General Education Development (GED) classes.   The below chart shows the total number of Miami Beach residents enrolled on Miami Beach for ESOL and GED classes in Fall 2019:

In summer 2019, the enrollment for the GED and ESOL classes was equally robust with 223 Miami Beach residents availing themselves of these educational opportunities per the chart below:

However, following the pandemic and the impact to Miami Beach's vulnerable residents, the enrollment in Summer 2020 dropped 69% when compared to the prior year same term to

69 residents per the chart below:

During this pandemic, the hardest hit has been the workforce in our hospitality industry.  In order to  ensure that our workforce remains on Miami Beach, as they are the backbone of our hospitality industry,  removing obstacles to their ability to attain and improve basic skills like English proficiency and high school graduation equivalency, is critical.  

Enrollment data from Miami Beach Adult and Community Education Center shows a 69% decrease in enrollment when comparing summer 2019 to  summer 2020.  With so many Miami Beach residents struggling to pay rent and buy food, funds for basic educational programs  are unavailable.     The current fee to enroll in either a General Education Development (GED) or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course at Miami Beach Adult and Community Education Center through Miami-Dade County Public Schools is $30.  

The English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course is designed to provide English language and literacy instruction for English language learner adults whose first language is other than English and who are non-literate or semi-literate in their home language, in order to increase their ability to communicate in English.   The instructional focus is to prepare adult learners to use English for entering the career and technical and/or postsecondary education, employment, and participation in civic life. 

The GED course of instruction prepares students for academic and personal success through obtaining the necessary skills required to pass the official GED test and earn a State of Florida High School Diploma.   This program strives to motivate students not only to obtain the diploma but also to utilize the acquired skills in the workforce and to achieve career and job placement success.