Alle-Kiski CareerLink GED program flourishing

When things didn’t work out for Madison Gourley after she left Kiski Area High School in her senior year to move away with her new husband, she returned home and earned her GED diploma.

She is on her way to nursing school at Westmoreland County Community College in the fall.

Gourley, 19, of Allegheny Township is one of 75 students that in the past three years passed their General Educational Development test with the help of a reinvigorated GED program with paid work experience offered by Alle-Kiski PA CareerLink, administered by Equus Works, in New Kensington. The program lost some teachers about four years ago but rebounded with a fuller staff and student opportunities.

“I needed the education to move ahead,” Gourley said. “It was very important for me to get my degree.”

The Equus Works GED prep program is free to Westmoreland County residents. The service primarily serves residents ages 16 to 24 in the Burrell, New Kensington-Arnold and Kiski Area school districts.

The program is housed in one room of the CareerLink offices in New Kensington with several teachers and a career specialist, who helps students study and pass their GED and prepare them for post-secondary education or employment. Additionally, the program pays the wages of students to work at local businesses and nonprofits to make them job-ready.

Students set their own pace with the GED prep school work.

“I’ve had kids get GEDs in two days, and I’ve had others working two and a half years,” said Don Acker, program manager, Equus Workforce Service.

Most students drop out of high school because they are disengaged with school because of the environment or other reasons, he said. The program first tests a student’s knowledge level, often discovering they are deficient in reading and math, Acker said. Teachers with the program, including Acker, make up those educational deficits in classes and exercises so students are ready to take the GED exam.

“We are very upbeat here, and I’m the biggest 64-year-old cheerleader they’ll ever meet,” he said.

It’s important to establish trust with students, Acker said. When a student doesn’t come to class, Acker will call a student’s family or find the student on Facebook to keep them motivated and urge them to return.

The program pays for the GED test and practice tests and will even transport them to Kittanning to take the test. “We do a lot of hand-holding and counseling in addition to helping with job searches and resumes,” he said.

As Gourley was a little nervous about her science knowledge before taking the GED, teachers helped her prepare. “They were always willing and had the time to help me with exercises and practice tests, giving me extra help, pushing me and motivating me through the program.”

The work experience while studying for the GED is an important opportunity for the students, Acker said.

One of the businesses where students learn work skills is Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore in New Kensington, where they operate cash registers, move merchandise and assist customers.

The free work provided by students helps save money for the nonprofit, which uses proceeds from the store to pay for Habitat projects, said Bryan Heyl, manager of the ReStore.

“The students need a job. They need skills,” he said. “They learn that you need to be on time and you need to focus on what you’re paid to do.”

Heyl said he enjoys mentoring students and introducing them to Habitat’s mission, with some of them eventually showing up on job sites.

Acker said he has more job opportunities than students. “Not all kids want to work,” he noted.

While a great percentage of students in the program successfully pass their GED, it doesn’t work for everyone. “You’ve got to want it,” he said, “and we’ll make it happen for you.”