At The Literacy Project’s five classrooms in Greenfield, Orange, Amherst, Northampton and Ware students are taking and passing the HiSET (high school equivalency test formerly known as the GED). As the school year draws to a close, adult students are passing this high stakes test, one which they have been preparing for, in some cases years, and one which will enable them to go on to community college, vocational training and better jobs.
The 300 students who study at The Literacy Project’s five classrooms have paid teachers supplemented by over 100 volunteers across our classroom sites, all working together.
Five mornings a week, through-out the school year, The Literacy Project’s classrooms fill up with adults studying to earn their HiSET degrees. Now, as the school year rolls to a close, students are eagerly awaiting news of passing the test.
Beth, a student at the Greenfield Literacy Project classroom just passed her HiSET and plans to go to Greenfield Community College in the fall. Beth has discovered that she loves to write. Beth wrote a memoir this year titled “Family, Hard Work and Belief.” This is an apt summation of what it takes for our adult students to be successful. One student said, “The Literacy Project is like family.” In our classrooms, students do the hard work of learning with the support of The Literacy Project family and they begin to find belief in themselves. As another student said, “my teachers believed in me before I believed in myself.”
Another student worked diligently for 6 years to pass the HiSET. His attendance was excellent, and his writing and conceptual understanding in language arts were very strong. He had a curious and engaged mind, and his teachers were certain that he would excel in college, but the math test held him back. With the support of his teachers and the volunteer classroom tutors, this student just passed the HiSET and will enroll in college in September.
Another one of The Literacy Project’s hard working students is a veteran. With an easy smile that belies a hard life, he cheerfully shows up for class each morning after working the night shift as a cleaner. He starts each morning at The Literacy Project the same way: first, he gets the coffee brewing; next, he opens his book and begins to read.
He’s just finished reading his first novel, and his eyes light up as he talks about the characters and his newfound joy of reading.
“I used to only be able to read well enough to read the sports scores in the newspaper. Now, I can read books. WHOLE books!”
For this homeless veteran living in a shelter, earning the high school equivalency diploma really matters. Once he passes, he’s been promised a raise at his job. Getting a raise will allow him to move out of the shelter and secure his own housing. For him and so many of the adults who study at The Literacy Project, completing a high school education is a key step towards financial stability.
So passing this test is really important. But the joy of reading has become just as important. When I asked him what he’ll do after he passes the test, he answered,
“First of all, I just want to read and read and read.”
Our adult students are doing the work of transforming their own lives. Nearly all say they want access to education so that they can get a better job to better support themselves and their families. We help students earn their high school equivalency credential and continue on to community college, vocational training, and jobs. And there is a ripple effect: As our students attain their educational goals, they are better able to support their children with their school work.
We prepare adults to be more successful in the workforce, but we also teach and value the humanities, helping students acquire essential critical thinking and problem-solving skills. And along the way we witness them meeting more personal goals, like discovering the joy of reading and the power of telling their own stories in poetry and prose, creating bridges to connect to each other and the world.
To learn more about the programs of The Literacy Project, visit our website at literacyproject.org or call us at 413-774-3934.
Judith Roberts is the executive director of The Literacy Project in Greenfield.