Community Education
1315 N. Mattis Ave
Champaign, IL 61821
217/351-2235
https://parkland.edu/communityeducation
Community Education (CE) provides personal and professional development opportunities to transform lives for all ages and stages of life. Services include:
- customized training and solutions for area employers
- professional development for individuals who want to upgrade their job skills or train for a new career, including the Highway Construction Careers Training Program
- personal development classes for all ages, including day trips, international travel, youth programs, and the Traffic Safety Program
Customized Training and Solutions
CE works with area employers to provide custom solutions to meet their specific needs such as training, facilitating, individual or group coaching, consulting and assessments which can be provided on- or off-site.
Topics include leadership and teambuilding, computer skills, organizational effectiveness, workplace essentials, language skills, quality assurance and project management, workplace safety, and wellness in the workplace.
Professional Development
CE offers short-term classes focused on specific skills and competencies for individuals entering or returning to the workforce, changing careers, or wanting to advance or be more productive at work. Classes include:
- Certifications and re-certifications such as CPR for Healthcare Providers and Food Service Sanitation
- Continuing education for dental hygienists and assistants, massage therapists, and nurses
- Pre-license education for Real Estate Brokers and Tractor Trailer Driver Training (Class A CDL)
- Professional development and career training such as Computer Applications, Social Media, Leadership, Medical Coding, Pharmacy Technician, Dietary Manager, Unmanned Aerial Systems, and Workplace Safety
- Online career training programs
Personal Development
Noncredit classes for a variety of ages are directed towards individuals interested in pursuing hobbies, exploring new interests, and enriching their personal lives. Short-term classes range from one hour to multiple weeks.
Topics include cooking, floral design, photography, woodworking, painting, drawing, glass work, or creative writing. A variety of fitness, wellness, and money management classes keep participants physically healthy and financially sound, and the Traffic Safety Program helps keep drivers safe on the road. For individuals interested in seeing new or familiar places, CE offers monthly travelogues, day trips, overnight adventures, and travel to destinations both stateside and abroad. Online noncredit classes are also available.
New subjects and trending topics are added every few months.
Youth Programs
Students between the ages of 7 and 18 can explore subjects through hands-on short-term classes during the year or week-long camps during the summer. Classes include SAT/ACT prep, culinary, coding, and art.
Spring break and summer camps for students ages 7-13 years old engage youth in hands-on learning and exploration of mathematics, science, engineering, technology, visual arts, languages, writing, drama, cooking, and more. Small class sizes are designed to instill a desire for lifelong learning and are taught by innovative and creative teachers.
Child Development Center
The Child Development Center is an accredited lab school located on the south side of the campus. The center provides a quality, affordable, individualized program for young children and their families in Parkland College District 505. One of the center’s goals is to provide developmentally and educationally appropriate activities that meet the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive needs of the individual child.
Enrollment is open to children, ages six weeks through five years old, whose parents are residents of District 505 or are employees or students of Parkland College. Parkland employees and students receive an 8 percent tuition discount.
For tuition rates, payment policies, enrollment procedures, hours, or to submit an online application, visit the CDC website. For other questions, please call 217/373-3777.
Dental Hygiene Clinic
For $10 a semester, the public can receive a medical history review and blood pressure screening, oral examination, oral cancer screening, oral hygiene instruction, dental cleaning, fluoride treatment, X-rays, and pit and fissure sealants. Teeth bleaching is provided at an additional cost.
Each appointment is approximately three and one-half hours long and must be made in advance by calling 217/351-2221.
There is no charge for children under 11, adults over 65, Medicaid recipients, or Public Aid recipients. Children under the age of four cannot be treated.
Parkland Presents
Parkland College Theatres
The Harold and Jean Miner Theatre, a flexible proscenium theatre with 315 seats, is the performance home for Parkland theatre, choral, and instrumental groups and is also used by community arts organizations, speakers, guest professional artists, and theatre classes.
Parkland’s Second Stage, a black box theatre, offers a flexible space for student learning and community engagement.
More information about theatre facilities and tickets to events can be obtained by calling the ticket office, 217/351-2528 or visiting the theatre website.
The William M. Staerkel Planetarium
The William M. Staerkel Planetarium is the second-largest planetarium in Illinois. It is home to a Carl Zeiss M1015 projector and a Digistar 6 fulldome projection system. This well-equipped multimedia facility provides unique educational programs and audiovisual entertainment to the college and the community.
Special programs are presented for school groups and private audiences throughout the year. Public shows are shown on Friday and Saturday evenings. Sensory-friendly accommodations and videos with Spanish language tracks are available.
For more information, call 217/351-2446 or visit the planetarium website.
Donna Hyland Giertz Gallery
The Giertz Gallery at Parkland College is located on the first floor of the College Center. It features exhibits of works by local, regional, and national artists. In conjunction with the monthly exhibits, there are gallery receptions and artist talks, offering Parkland students and faculty the opportunity to speak with artists about their work.
The gallery has rotating exhibits each year, including a Parkland art faculty exhibit in the fall and a juried student exhibit in the spring. Other exhibitions include solo, two-person, and group exhibitions by nationally recognized artists. The accessible gallery is free and open to the public.
For additional information about exhibits and programming, please call the gallery office, 217/351-2485, or visit the gallery website.
WPCD
WPCD 88.7, the radio voice of Parkland College, broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and streams online worldwide. With a power output of 10,500 watts, its signal covers much of east central Illinois, reaching close to 200,000 people.
WPCD gives students the opportunity to participate in daily radio operations and learn about radio and the music industry. The station airs a variety of indie alternative college rock with the best hits of alternative music from the 90s, 2000s, and today.
For more information call 217/351-2450 or visit the WPCD website.
PCTV
Parkland College Television (PCTV) is a 24-hour cable and online streaming channel that delivers locally-produced educational programming and community interest programming about the college to District 505 households. The channel also offers satellite programming from Classic Arts Showcase, NASA-TV, and DW-TV. PCTV operates a video production facility that provides training for students and instructional support for faculty.
PCTV can be viewed online and over cable on Comcast Cable channel 9, some Mediacom outlets on channel 10, and AT&T Cable channel 99.
For additional information, call 217/351-2475 or visit the PCTV website.
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