Summary
No alternative program is currently planned to replace LEC’s education services.
At its April 30 Committee of the Whole Meeting, the City of Springfield learned that Lawrence Education Center – or LEC – would close its doors at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
For many years, Lawrence has been one of two providers of adult basic education, also known as ABE, in the Springfield area, the other being Lincoln Land Community College. That program, in addition to Lawrence’s youth education services, has had an outsize impact on the City.
“We wholeheartedly believe in our students when it seems the rest of the world has given up on them,” said Lawrence Workplace Coordinator Alex Rockford. “Lawrence Education Center is truly a unique place, and its closure will be a detriment to our community.”
Rockford, who only learned of the closure last week alongside her fellow staff, spoke to the City Council to beseech the City for some sort of replacement for Lawrence — yet the alderpeople seemed as stunned to hear her announcement on Tuesday as she had been last week.
“I don’t know how a decision like that can be made,” said Alderman Shawn Gregory of Ward 2, who seemed especially struck by the announcement. “This is certainly a gut punch to our community.”
Ward 3 Alderman Roy Williams, Jr. questioned what reason the school district had given for the closure; Rockford replied that no explanation had been given by the school district. The actual announcement was issued to the school by Simon Property Group, the management company for its host building, White Oaks Mall.
“We can all speculate, but I can’t say for certain what the reasoning is…I have heard that the district isn’t wanting to compete with Lincoln Land,” said Rockford, “Which is why I provided the data [to the City] that we’re serving different populations. There isn’t much overlap.”
And among other things that data shows a stark divide between LEC and LLCC: with Lincoln Land being a community college and therefore not providing basic education for anyone below the age of 18, LEC has filled a gap in the school district, with over 86% of the 270+ students enrolled at Lawrence in 2023 being between 16-24 years of age.
Alderman Williams was particularly troubled by that. “With this going, I just wonder – now what? The few that go to your program, around 16, 17, 18, 19… what becomes of them? This is their second chance, but if we close that program, I just think we’re starting to see an influx of crime and problems from that age group.”
“Are there gonna be additional plans?” asked Alderman Brad Carlson of Ward 7. “I mean – where are these students going to go?”
In the absence of information from the school district, Rockford had no answer to that question. “We have a lot of staff that is still committed to helping these students. Even though we’ll no longer fall on the payroll, we are committed to tutoring over the summer.
“There’s a lot that went into Lawrence, and providing the services to remove barriers for students’ success, and getting that secondary completion — which is a big hindrance to earning a livable wage, and jobs…”
To that point, Ward 8 Alderwoman Erin Conley remarked, “I know there are other organizations that offer tutoring and things like that, but those are smaller, smaller fixes for something that is a really big problem.”
Several of the alderpeople vocally declared they would contacted their respective school board representatives about the Lawrence decision, but the City’s options to intervene are, ultimately, limited. Alex Rockford invited the City to participate in LEC’s final graduation ceremony, which will be held May 31 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM at LEC, inside 2501 Wabash Ave.
