Opening Doors: GED program expands to Jefferson County
Posted 08/28/2009
Jefferson County – Jim Thorpe knows first-hand how important a GED is to the success of an individual. As the online director at Everest College – an institution that accepts students without GEDs – he has seen qualified applicants turned down for jobs because they did not have a diploma or the high school equivalent of a GED.
“Our college has a career placement center. I am seeing more of our students not getting jobs because of the 30 to 40 applicants behind them who have a GED or high school diploma and they don’t,” Thorpe said.
Dr. Rudy Gonzales speaks to a room full of educators about Aspen Diversified Industries new Education Center in Lakewood at the grand opening Aug. 28.
Thorpe has partnered with Aspen Diversified Industries to bring testing to the Everest campus and after only two tests, the school has graduated 40 students.
“It is amazing to see the students come in and just light up about getting their GED,” Thorpe said. “It touches your heart.”
In the last two years, more than 600 students have successfully completed their GED at Aspen Diversified Industries Education center in Colorado Springs – one of those students was 57-years-old.
ADI held the grand opening of a new state-of-the-art facility in Jefferson County on Aug. 28.
“A GED provides people with a launch pad to move onto bigger and better things in their life,” said Morris L. Roth, CEO of Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group, the parent non-profit of ADI. “Many people ask me why we do this as a behavioral health organization. It’s because we believe in training and creating opportunities for people. My passion is helping people across their lives, not with just one issue. This is the real deal.”
The GED program is led by Dr. Rudy Gonzales, a career educator. The new test and preparation center is the largest in Colorado and equipped to test more than 20 students at a time. The cost for testing is $90, which includes five subject-area tests: science, social studies, reading, writing and math.
Many individuals have educational deficiencies that prevent them from obtaining their GED and securing competitive employment. Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group believes education and gainful employment play crucial roles in the overall wellness of individuals.
The GED preparation and testing programs are designed to help students achieve the necessary academic skills to pass the state licensed GED test. Preparation is done on a computer-based system using monthly predictor assessments to evaluate progress and is taught by a licensed Colorado Department of Education teacher. The predictor process provides accurate indicators and suggests time schedules for testing in each subject area.
The success rate for students who fully complete the preparation class is 100 percent.
“When it comes to kids, we have passion. When it comes to young adults, we have passion. When it comes to adults, we have passion,” Gonzales said. “We will do two things: Provide excellent customer service and ensure you and your clients have every opportunity to pass the GED.”
For more information about the GED Program, click here, or contact Dr. Rudy Gonzales at (719) 637-8906, RudyG@ppbhg.org
Back to news articles
- |