Southwest Community Education
3414 W. 47th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55410

Contact:
Tom Neiman
Community Education Specialist
Phone: (612) 668-3100
tom.neiman@mpls.k12.mn.us

Our Mission: Community Education exists to support the learning and participation of adults and children so they can improve their lives and their community.

About Us: Southwest Community Education (SWCE) is the Community Education Program housed in Southwest High School, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our program began in 1974, and it is one of the largest such programs in the state.  We operate on a quarterly basis. Our school year program (fall, winter & spring) includes over 125 general adult education classes (GAE), family and community events, environmental workshops, and more. We also sponsor year-round recreation trips.

During the summer months, we sponsor a very popular children's enrichment program - The Southwest Super Summer Program (SSP).  Our SSP program offers over 125 activities and classes for students ages 4+ to 14.  This includes a special Trek program that targets middle school aged children with recreation trips with environmental learning.

Selected Class Offerings at Southwest:
Please see our quarterly brochure for a full list of classes

• Foreign languages (Spanish, Russian, Chinese, French, German, etc.)
• Yoga (Power Yoga, Sivinanda, Hatha, Iyengar, etc.)
• Recreational sports (volleyball, badminton, tennis, golf, etc.)
• Fitness classes (aerobics, fitness 55+, exercise & weight training, etc.)
• Cooking (Italian, Indian, breads, soups & salads, etc.)
• Dance (Swing-East Coast, Lindy Hop, Latin, Salsa, Ballroom, Modern & Jazz, Hip Hop, etc.)
• Home Repair workshops (plaster, plumbing, electrical, floor refinishing, trim & molding, etc.)
• Art & Crafts (wheel pottery, water color painting, drawing, acrylic painting, knitting, batik, beginning sewing, sewing-windowshades, sewing-slipcovers, sewing-draperies, etc.
• Industrial Arts (open woodshop, woodshop for women, bike maintenance)
• Home & Garden (a variety of gardening a landscape workshops, including: perennials, gardening 101, rain-water gardens, etc.)

Special Events & Community Activities:

•  
• Winter: Family Sock Hop
• Winter: Free Women & Girls Self-Defense Workshop
• Spring Community Clean-up & Hazardous Waste Drop Off

Fall: Family Community Halloween Party

Recreation Trips & Tours

• Fall: Weekend Bike Trip (e.g. Munger Trail, Root River Trail, etc.)
• Fall: Apple & Cheese and Vegetable Fall Festival
• Fall: Mystery Culture, Arts & Historic tour
• Winter: Weekend Cross-country Ski trip to National Forest Lodge/Isabella, MN
• Winter: 1-Day Cross-country Ski trip to varied state parks
• Winter: Weekend Cross-country Ski trip to Grand Marais, MN/Norsthshore
• Spring: 100 Mile Garage Sale (Red Wing to Wabasha)
• Spring: Wild Flower Trip
• Summer: Weekend Canoe Trip (Namekagon, Brule, or Root River)
• Summer: Midnight-to-Dawn Metro Bicycle Tour (full moon in July)
• Summer: Glacier National Park Hiking Trip (during the even years - our next trip is in 2008)

Environmental Workshops
Topics vary each quarter

• Waste Water Management
• Hazardous Household Waste alternatives
• Recyling of batteries, paper & garbage
• Organic & Healthy foods
• Natural ways to treat your garden & landscapes

Our Partners:

• Linden Hills Neighborhood Improvement Council (LHiNC)
• Linden Hills Business Association
• Fulton Neighborhood Association
• Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP)
• Hennepin County Historical Society
• Minneapolis Public Libraries
• Minneapolis Park & Recreation
• American Red Cross
• American Heart Association
• American Cancer Society
• And a variety of other neighborhood businesses!