Our History

  • Adult Education has a long and well established history in Lowell, Massachusetts.  Over a hundred years ago, English instruction and evening classes were held at Lowell Evening High School.

    The first full-time center, Lowell Adult Education Center (LAEC), was created in 1977, under the direction of former Superintendent, Patrick J. Mogan.  Originally, it was housed at the Lowell High School Annex on Paige Street, and later moved to Lowell High School on Kirk Street.  At that time, the program included Adult Basic Education instruction, LHS evening school, the Lowell Adult Diploma Program, and many special interest classes. Our Center moved to its current location at the Green School, 408 Merrimack Street, in 1993.

    Frederick Abisi was our first Director, and served in that role for over 35 years.  Under his direction, the program grew to become one of the largest in New England.  In 2014, the center was named after him and is now called the Frederick Assad Abisi Adult Education Center (AAEC).  Elizabeth McKiernan has been the Director since 2012.  

    Our class offerings include morning and evening classes for  High School Equivalency (HSE) preparation classes and English as Second Language (ESOL).  We have both in-person and remote classes.  We are also an official testing center for the GED and HiSET tests.

    We are funded through a joint partnership with Lowell Public Schools and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

    On average, we serve over 2000 adult students  at our Center each year.  We consider it a privilege to serve the Greater Lowell community, and continue to be committed to providing excellence in education for those in need of Adult Basic Education.