CommunityAwarenessCoordinator
Caribou Adult Education hopes everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. As your holiday season begins, remember that adult education offers gift certificates for all classes. The gift of education is the best one of all for your family members and friends. Our fall semester is ending the week of December 12, but our spring semester begins the week of January 12, 2009. Course guides will be available soon. We are continuing to ask for your input on wellness and enrichment classes that you would like to see offered or are interested in instructing. Please email Dan MacDonald, director, at dmacdonald@mail.caribouschools.org.
General Educational Development (GED)
We would like to put our GED program in the spotlight this month to help those interested in earning their GED understand what it is and how it is achieved. The purpose of the GED test is to afford an opportunity to adults who did not complete a high school program to be recognized as having earned high school credentials and allow them to move on to pursue higher education, obtain jobs and job promotions, and to achieve personal goals.
The GED Tests are designed to measure major academic skills and knowledge in core content areas that are generally learned during four years of high school. When an adult passes the 7.5 hour GED Tests battery, the resulting GED credential certifies that he or she has attained subject matter knowledge and skills associated with high school completion. The GED Tests battery include: Language Arts, Writing Part I: 50 questions; Language Arts, Part II: Essay; Social Studies: 50 Questions; Science: 50 Questions; Language Arts, Reading: 40 Questions; Mathematics, Part I: 25 questions with use of calculator; and Mathematics, Part II: 25 questions without use of calculator,
Passing the GED may require some preparation on the part of the adult. Caribou Adult Education provides Pre-GED classes and studying with the GED preparation books. To determine if the adult is ready to for the test or needs some prep work, the adult meets with adult education staff to determine their level of need. Staff will develop a study plan for the adult and give them the opportunity to take the Pre-GED test allowing the adult and staff to see if the adult is prepared for the GED Tests themselves.
The GED Informational Bulletin is available in the adult education office and the public is welcome to stop by and pick one up. If you are interested in the earning your GED, please contact the Caribou Adult Education Office at 493-4270 to schedule an appointment.
Erica Gove-Raymond is Community Awareness Coordinator for Caribou Adult Education.