Education reforms seem to move slower than an all-day calculus class, so the recent and rapid expansion of the Unobskey School of the University College at Calais is a pleasant surprise worth noting. Supporters of last year’s education bond, which is funding the expansion, can congratulate themselves on money well spent.

The University of Maine System center has been in Calais for years but got a boost in 2000 when philanthropist Sydney Unobskey donated a Main Street building, once the site of a family department store, to expand the distance learning available there. The result in that short time has been two dozen college graduates – including students finishing up degrees near home and those who had not finished earlier returning to complete their degrees. As important, it is attracting hundreds of students, mostly nontraditional (average age at the center is 36) who otherwise would not go to college at all.

Earlier this week the Unobskey School celebrated the expansion of a 1,500-square-foot fine-arts center and a classroom for courses taught through compressed video, which significantly improves the interaction between teacher and students compared with electronic versions. According to Gayle Moholland, director of the Unobskey School, “We haven’t even finished with the painting of the walls and people are signing up for classes.” There is, in fact, now a waiting list for some courses.

The new center is not only for college students. Ms. Moholland notes that the lower grades of local schools do not have fine-arts programs and could benefit from coming to the center. Programs for seniors, too, she said, are welcome. The community resource is often taught by local artists; a fine-arts student at UMaine Machias, for instance, taught younger students in a summer program. And students of music and drama are equally welcome, Ms. Moholland said, as is anyone who can present an arts program beneficial to the area.

The connection between a college education and a stable career that pays the bills grows clearer by the year. Maine families struggle with the desire to stay in their hometowns and the recognition that traditional jobs are disappearing. Centers like the one in Calais – there are 10 statewide – provide a partial answer by serving as a catalyst for local higher education.

The Calais community’s enthusiastic response to its presence suggests it may be onto something.