The Washington Business Alliance, a nonpartisan, non-profit business organization highlighted Lake Washington Institute of Technology’s I-BEST program this week for “successfully reinventing adult education.”
I-BEST pairs two instructors in the classroom – one to teach professional and technical content and the other to teach basic skills in reading, math, writing or English language – so students can move through school and into jobs faster.
LWIT was an early adopter of the I-BEST program. The acknowledgement highlights faculty member Hector Valenzuela for his work integrating calculus and algebra into auto repair. The Gates Foundation partially funds the program.
I-BEST participants were found to be employed at double the hours per week and earning $2,310 more per year than graduates in the control group.