And, Another Thing I Didn’t Know…

Yet again, the Howard County Library System has provided me with an invitation to learn something I didn’t already know. Today’s opportunity came when I started researching an initiative called Project Literacy.

One often hears about libraries being places that offer opportunities for adults to learn to read as well as classes for those learning to speak English. All this time, when I heard the words “Project Literacy”, that’s what I thought it meant. As they say in the tv adverts: But, wait - - there’s more!

Tonight at the Elkridge Branch, they’re hosting the Project Literacy Graduation Ceremony, where ten students will receive their external high school diplomas.

Diplomas?

Here’s what I learned from Jamie Preto Hepworth, Howard County Library System's Communications Coordinator:

Howard County Library System’s Project Literacy program has touched the lives of more than 12,500 students since it began in 1987. In addition to their external high school diploma, students have achieved U.S. citizenship, improved their English skills, and worked on skills to enter the workforce.

Wow. My knowledge on how one earns proof of high school completion in any non-traditional sense have been limited to the words “getting a GED.” I’ve since learned that a GED is just the name of a series of exams one must pass (to receive proof of knowledge equivalent to that of a high school education.) The Project Literacy graduates have been participating in something different, called the National External Diploma Program .

If you are 18 or older and do not have a high school diploma from the U.S., you can earn one through HCLS Project Literacy’s National External Diploma Program (NEDP) pathway.

The self-paced program can be completed in-person and/or online. Project Literacy has tutors to prepare you for the entrance exams. Once you pass the exams, you work at your own pace and meet weekly with a Project Literacy coach whose job is to help you through the program until you earn your Maryland high school diploma

Whether you want a high school diploma for college or trade school, to get a better job, or to meet a personal goal, Project Literacy can help you obtain it for free.

What makes the National External Diploma Program pathway so valuable?

NEDP is designed with the needs of the adult learner in mind. The computer-based program provides a unique way for adults to earn a high school diploma without taking classes or completing a series of high stake tests. Rather, NEDP® clients complete program requirements by working independently on a series of assigned tasks or competencies at their own pace, while meeting periodically with a trained NEDP® assessor to develop a portfolio that proves that they have acquired the skills required to be awarded a Maryland High School Diploma. NEDP measures academic and life skills such as reading, writing, mathematics, oral communication, critical thinking, self, social, occupational awareness, and other workplace skills. - - Maryland Department of Labor

This means that graduates of the Project Literacy Program at the Library have been able to pursue completion of the requirements while simultaneously balancing the obligations of adult life, including employment, parenthood, and other commitments. The NEDP pathway is designed to provide greater opportunity for their success. The Howard County Library System provides classes, coaching and support through Project Literacy to facilitate that success.

But, wait - - there’s more! Project Literacy is more than diplomas. You can click this link to learn more.

What HCLS wants you to know today is that they’re celebrating the hard work of their graduating students, who are real human beings with faces and names and lives in our community. Completing the NEDP is about more than receiving a piece of paper. It’s about pursuing and achieving their own goals.

Here are two of them. (Images and links courtesy of HCLS.)