The New York City Council started a new “Back-to-School” campaign targeting adults without a high school diploma and urging them to get their general equivalency diploma (GED).
“1.6 million New Yorkers don’t have a high school diploma and that excludes the children and we want to change that,” said City Councilmember Daniel Dromm. “We are still working on securing funding, but there are already many GED, English language and career training courses available out there.”
The initiative is part of the effort to help New Yorkers get better jobs. City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Councilmember Maria del Carmen Arroyo, Elyse Barbell of the Literacy Assistance Center and Mothers on the Move executive director Wanda Salaman are among the people who have already committed to the project.
The “Back-to-School” initiative aims to make it easier for individuals who dropped out of school, were home schooled, or came to the country as immigrants and don’t have a high school diploma to take and pass the GED. They are often struggling with unemployment, low wages or lack of opportunity for advancement, all because of poor educational credentials. GED’s are an opportunity for many to find new employment and a better life style.
The campaign also aims to revive the GED system to deliver positive results. Only 2 percent of all New Yorkers who need a GED take the test and even then the passing rate is below 50 percent, because preparation is inadequate.
The new web site GED Compass will help New Yorkers better understand the adult education system and find classes they need or sign up for the GED test. The city’s three Public Library systems will link their web sites to GED Compass and help library visitors get more information.
Also, councilmembers will get the word out to their districts and target groups that tend to have a large number of individuals with no high school diploma.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs will reach out to the many immigrants who need a GED.
Each borough will host an Adult Education Fair this fall, an opportunity for individuals to meet service providers and sign up for the appropriate classes in their area.
“We are currently working out the details on the Queens fair,” said Dromm. “Meanwhile, we are reaching out to community groups, ordering fliers and preparing an email blast to get the information out there.”
