Kuehl, new community ed director, at home in Austin

Published 12:00 am Monday, October 30, 2000

Easing into a job that requires knowledge of the people in the community is quite an undertaking for someone who has lived in the area for only a short time.

Monday, October 30, 2000

Easing into a job that requires knowledge of the people in the community is quite an undertaking for someone who has lived in the area for only a short time. But Laura Kuehl is ready for this challenge, having just moved to Austin this fall and started her new job as the Community Education director of the Austin School District.

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Her responsibilities include community programs for children, adult education and leisure/recreation programs.

She heads programs like Kids Korner, an after school childcare program.

One of the biggest parts of her job is finding out what kind of programs the Austin community wants.

"I want to spend a few months learning about what’s here," said Kuehl, "I need to get to know the parents and find out what they want. It’s really their program, I just kind of listen."

Part of Kuehl’s job is to listen and act for the Austin community. The advantage she brings to Austin is that she has the experience to know how to act in order to give the community what it asks for.

Kuehl spent six years as Community Education director for Jackson County Center. Although the people are different, the methods are the same. The methods she has learned in the past six years are what will help Kuehl to do her best here in Austin.

Getting to know the community will also help Kuehl as she schedules community education courses for the upcoming season.

Course decisions are based off of community volunteers. Anyone who has a skill of any kind can apply to teach a course.

"It’s a great chance for people in the community to earn some money while sharing their talents with others," said Kuehl.

One thing Kuehl says appeals to her about her new job is that Austin focuses on the young children of the community.

"Their philosophy is to work from birth on." She also is attracted to Austin’s strong concept of family.

Overall Kuehl is excited about the prospects of her new job that lie ahead. "I think there are some really exciting programs and I’d like the public to know what we have."

The Austin Community Education brochure comes out seasonally with a list of course offerings and all of the other programs Community Education offers. Any questions can be directed to 433-0971.