THERE ARE MANY perks to telecommuting: staying in your pjs until noon, seeing more of your kids, long lunches.

But when Glen Baker, 47, moved to Fort Defiance, Va., he adopted a flexi-schedule so he could keep going into his Annandale office and attend his weekly evening advanced French conversation class with Jim Hodson through Fairfax County Public Schools Adult Continuing Education (FCPS ACE).

"I work [from home] Monday and Friday, and I'm in the office Tuesday through Thursday, which is great because I take the Wednesday night class," says Baker, who sought out a venue to practice his French 10 years ago when he still lived in Annandale — and a mere five miles from the class. "I actually built my schedule around this class."

During two-hour conversation et lecture sessions, Baker and other students discuss a French novel they're reading, learn a bit of grammar and talk about recent headline stories in France. Sure, his merci and bonjour are sounding more authentic, but Baker also anticipates his mid-week tete-a-tete because of the camaraderie that's developed. And many of his fellow Francophiles share the sentiment. "Half the class is repeat students," he says.

Many continuing education classes inspire repeat customers because they foster friendships. According to a recent focus group survey conducted at FCPS ACE, students may initially take a course because they're drawn to the topic, but they return to subsequent sessions because of the community that develops in the class. Students participating in the survey cited the social connection as an important part of the classroom experience.

"A little family develops in these classes," Hodson says. "You can almost hear the bonds being made."

Hodson's students may start by discussing topics important to France — say, the Paris stock market — and share opinions, but one comment leads to another, and before they know it, they're sharing personal details and getting to know each other. "I know about their kids, their dogs, what goes on in their lives," Hodson says.

This concept of community in the classroom appears to increase students' overall satisfaction with their educational experience, says Dr. Joan Johnson Hoskins, an education professor at Regent University in northern Virginia. In fact, many of the professors of graduate-level programs at the university intentionally strive to build community in their classrooms by encouraging student interaction.

"The experiences, ideas and perspectives of the other ... members enhance the students' learning" Hoskins explains in an e-mail. When students feel comfortable in class and form relationships, "their individual and collective knowledge and experiences are combined to contribute to the learning process."

In the Arlington Education and Employment Program (REEP), an adult ESL program within the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education of Arlington Public Schools that has served 2,026 ESL student in the last eight months, teachers witness this intensified learning as students desperate for connection meet others who face the same challenges they do.

Maggie Cleland, who taught ESL Through Theater last semester, marveled at how students from all walks of life bonded as they learned to communicate in their host country. "One of the biggest problems ESL students face is isolation," Cleland observes, "whether visitor or immigrant. This was the one place they could find people in their unique situation."

Because of this camaraderie, the students were able to perfect a song that was part of the play they were performing — without Cleland even realizing it. When she threatened to cut it because of limited rehearsal time, the students proved they were capable — by performing it for her on the spot. "For some of them, that was a really proud moment," Cleland says. "They really fought to keep a number."

Moments like these are what lead students to go to extreme lengths to attend class. Zsuzsa Bordas, a Hungarian student in Cleland's theater sessions, was thrilled to meet people who understood the challenges unique to non-native speakers. When she realized her visa wouldn't allow her to remain in the country long enough to complete the class, she applied for an extension and was allowed to stick around until she got an answer.

Still in limbo at the end of the class, Bordas was grateful for the opportunity connect with fellow immigrants, one of whom provided a list of resources for her to explore sponsorship.

These social connections can help students professionally as well as personally. In Jerry Livaudais' diverse Human Resources Management Program at FCPS ACE, CEOs from Pakistan and housewives from Puerto Rico form friendships with students already in the field and learn more about the occupations they're studying.

One year, a student who was an HR officer for Marriott offered to take his fellow classmates on a field trip to see how a live HR office operates.

Newbies to the profession have even been known to get jobs through the class. "We have students who come in from recruiting agencies...[and] advertise jobs," Livaudais says. One student, an HR officer for a federal contractor, advertised a position to the class and hired another student who was a newbie to HR. "According to the supervisor," Livaudais says, "she was exceptional at everything. She was completely prepared for the job."

But many overworked professionals look forward to kicking back and forgetting about work for a few hours. At the Smithsonian Resident Associates Program, students see Alfredo Ratinoff's mosaic class as a place to decompress and have fun. "This is our safe place. We talk and we share a lot of things. We share experiences about life," says Ratinoff, 42. And he does his best to create the right atmosphere, including offering different types of tea for students to sip as they sort their pieces and playing energetic Brazilian jazz when it's time to "prepare" materials for a project — that is, smash them to bits. "People come in from a stressful day, drink tea, enjoy good music and talk with their classmates," Ratinoff says. "I think it's great therapy."

Written by Express contributor Sara Kruger
Photos by Lawrence Luk

Posted by Express at 12:01 AM on April 9, 2008
Tagged in Getting Ahead , Lifestyles , Top Stories