Oct. 18, 2023 1:15p
(WGTD)---One by one, barriers to obtaining a high school equivalency degree are being stripped away. The changes are most pronounced in Racine, where city officials have gotten behind a program offered jointly by the YWCA of Southeast Wisconsin, Gateway Technical College and Racine Unified.
A couple of YWCA program managers were Community Matters’ co-host Marsha Connet’s recent guests.
For openers, the city of Racine offers up to $1,500 to city residents who complete the free program. And program applicants no longer must pass a basic skills assessment in order to get in, according to YWCA manager Dawn Kelley. "For students that are coming in that may have test anxiety or lower scores, we can have them take a two-week mini-class at Gateway and work with a teacher one-on-one through a competency checklist to show that they have the skills necessary to go ahead and start classes," she said.
Classes are taught in both English and Spanish, and are available either online or in-person.
For students who opt for in-person, child care is available.
On the average, students complete the program is 20 weeks.
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