Our Mission
Community Learning Center helps low-income adults in Philadelphia gain academic and employment skills so that they can realize their fullest potential at home and in the workforce.
Our Vision
A Philadelphia where all adults possess the education and employment necessary to thrive.
Our History
In 1987, founder Jean Fleschute launched an adult education program called Community Learning Center, meeting a dire local need for adults who had not finished high school. Starting with 67 students, Ms. Fleschute and devoted volunteers taught classes in the Germantown, Kensington, and West Oak Lane neighborhoods and began CLC's hallmark of student-centered education that promotes a love of lifelong learning. In 1991, Ms. Fleschute established CLC headquarters at 2801 Frankford Avenue (at Somerset Street), and also continued to conduct classes at off-site locations.
In 1994, Community Learning Center became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, separate from its parent organization, the Program for Auxiliary Services for Students (PASS), which by then had changed its name to Personal Resources Network (PRN). Throughout its history CLC has worked diligently to establish its reputation as an outcome-driven organization.
In September 2011, CLC moved its headquarters from Frankford and Somerset to a larger space at (at Lehigh Avenue). With increased demand for services, in 2013 CLC opened a second site at (between Race and Vine Streets) in West Philadelphia.
Today, both sites serve as campuses for myPLACE, an adult education assessment and referral service funded by Philadelphia's Office of Adult Education (formerly called the Mayor's Commission on Literacy), the starting point for adult education services in Philadelphia. The West Philadelphia site is also the location of CLC's Pearson Vue Authorized Test Center, where candidates can take the GED® and other Pearson Vue tests.
Building on a long history of partnership with other organizations, CLC is currently growing its partnership with Philadelphia Works Inc., a nonprofit that finances and oversees employment and training services that enable Philadelphians to find and qualify for work. Through this partnership, CLC offers classes at three PA CareerLink® sites and teaches occupationally relevant academic skills to participants in a building trades workforce development program.